System and method to provide homogeneous fabric attributes to reduce the need for sa access in a high performance computing environment

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for InfiniBand fabric optimizations to minimize SA access and startup failover times. A system can comprise one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnet comprising a plurality of switches, a plurality of host channel adapters, a plurality of hosts, and a subnet manager, the subnet manager running on one of the one or more switches and the plurality of host channel adapters. The subnet manager can be configured to determine that the plurality of hosts and the plurality of switches support a same set of capabilities. On such determination, the subnet manager can configure an SMA flag, the flag indicating that a condition can be set for each of the host channel adapter ports.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEHOMOGENOUS FABRIC ATTRIBUTES TO REDUCE THE NEED FOR SA ACCESS IN A HIGHPERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, application Ser. No. 16/856,819,filed on Apr. 23, 2020, which application is a continuation of andclaims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE HOMOGENOUS FABRIC ATTRIBUTES TO REDUCE THENEED FOR SA ACCESS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”,application Ser. No. 15/927,444, filed on Mar. 21, 2018, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,673,644, issued Jun. 2, 2020, which application claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/476,423, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INFINIBAND FABRICOPTIMIZATIONS TO MINIMIZE SA ACCESS AND STARTUP FAILOVER TIMES”, filedon Mar. 24, 2017; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/547,203,entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE HOMOGENEOUS FABRIC ATTRIBUTES TOREDUCE THE NEED FOR SA ACCESS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,206, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE PATHRECORDS DERIVED FROM ARP RESPONSES AND PEER-TO-PEER NEGOTIATION ONHOMOGENOUS FABRIC ATTRIBUTE IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,213, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEMULTICAST GROUP MEMBERSHIP DEFINED RELATIVE TO PARTITION MEMBERSHIP IN AHIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/547,218, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD TO PROVIDE DUAL MULTICAST LID ALLOCATION PER MULTICAST GROUP TOFACILITATE BOTH FULL AND LIMITED PARTITION MEMBERS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCECOMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,223, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEMULTICAST GROUP MLID DYNAMIC DISCOVERY ON RECEIVED MULTICAST MESSAGESFOR RELEVANT MGID IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, filed onAug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/547,225,entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE DEFAULT MULTICAST LID VALUES PERPARTITION AS ADDITIONAL SMA ATTRIBUTES IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,255, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEEXPLICIT MULTICAST LID ASSIGNMENT FOR PER PARTITION DEFAULT MULTICASTLIDS DEFINED AS SM POLICY INPUT IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,258, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEDEFAULT MULTICAST GROUP (MCG) FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DISCOVERY ASEXTENDED PORT INFORMATION IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”,filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/547,259, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE DEFAULT MULTICASTPROXY FOR SCALABLE FORWARDING OF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INFORMATION REQUESTINTERCEPTING IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug.18, 2017; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/547,260, entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD TO USE QUEUE PAIR 1 FOR RECEIVING MULTICAST BASEDANNOUNCEMENTS IN MULTIPLE PARTITIONS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/547,261, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO USE ALLINCOMING MULTICAST PACKETS AS A BASIS FOR GUID TO LID CACHE CONTENTS INA HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017; andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/547,264, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD TO PROVIDE COMBINED IB AND IP ADDRESS AND NAME RESOLUTION SCHEMESVIA DEFAULT IB MULTICAST GROUPS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, filed on Aug. 18, 2017, each of which applications isherein incorporated by reference.

This application is related to the following patent applications andpatents, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety: U.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDEPATH RECORDS DERIVED FROM ARP RESPONSES AND PEER-TO-PEER NEGOTIATIONBASED ON HOMOGENEOUS FABRIC ATTRIBUTE IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, application Ser. No. 15/927,446 filed Mar. 21, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,630,499; U.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD TO PROVIDE MULTICAST GROUP MEMBERSHIP DEFINED RELATIVE TOPARTITION MEMBERSHIP IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT”,application Ser. No. 15/927,448, filed Mar. 21, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No.10,432,414; U.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TOPROVIDE DUAL MULTICAST LID ALLOCATION PER MULTICAST GROUP TO FACILITATEBOTH FULL AND LIMITED PARTITION MEMBERS IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, application Ser. No. 15/927,451, filed Mar. 21, 2018; andU.S. patent application entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE MULTICASTGROUP MULTICAST LID DYNAMIC DISCOVERY BASED ON RECEIVED MULTICASTMESSAGES FOR RELEVANT MULTICAST GID IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTINGENVIRONMENT”, application Ser. No. 15/927,455, filed Mar. 21, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,560,277.

BACKGROUND

As larger cloud computing architectures are introduced, the performanceand administrative bottlenecks associated with the traditional networkand storage have become a significant problem. There has been anincreased interest in using high performance lossless interconnects suchas InfiniBand (IB) technology as the foundation for a cloud computingfabric. This is the general area that embodiments of the invention areintended to address.

SUMMARY

Described herein are systems and methods to provide homogenous fabricattributes to reduce the need for SA (Subnet Administrator) access in ahigh performance computing environment. An exemplary system can compriseone or more microprocessors and a first subnet. The first subnet cancomprise a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports. Thesubnet can additionally comprise a plurality of host channel adapters,wherein each of the host channel adapters comprise at least one hostchannel adapter port of a plurality of host channel adapter ports, andwherein the plurality of host channel adapters are interconnected viathe plurality of switches. Finally, the subnet can comprise a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters. The subnet manager can beconfigured to determine that a set of the plurality of host channeladapter ports and a set of the plurality of switches support a same setof capabilities. Upon the subnet manager determining that the pluralityof hosts and the plurality of switches support a same set ofcapabilities, the subnet manager can configure an SMA (subnet managementagent) flag, the flag indicating that a condition can be set for a setof the plurality of host channel adapter ports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of an InfiniBand environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows an illustration of a partitioned cluster environment, inaccordance with an embodiment

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of a tree topology in a networkenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary shared port architecture, in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary vPort architecture, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with prepopulated LIDs,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with dynamic LIDassignment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with vSwitch with dynamicLID assignment and prepopulated LIDs, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary multi-subnet InfiniBand fabric, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows an interconnection between two subnets in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows an interconnection between two subnets via a dual-portvirtual router configuration in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method for supporting dual-port virtualrouter in a high performance computing environment, in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary subnet A00 that supports multicastcommunication, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary SA data store used by the SM/SA to managemulticast groups, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 16 shows an exemplary route that can be determined via a spanningtree algorithm in a subnet, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 17 shows a detailed view of switches, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastpacket delivery to members of a multicast group, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates a flowchart of a method for supporting homogenousfabric attributes to reduce the need for SA access in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a method for supporting homogenous fabricattributes to reduce the need for SA access in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 25 illustrates a system for providing path records derived from ARPresponses and peer-to-peer negotiation on homogenous fabric attribute ina high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart of a method for determining GID and LIDs fromincoming ARP requests and responses, including correlation with fabricminimum/maximum values, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a method for constructing path informationbased on new CM type message exchange, including correlation with fabricminimum/maximum values, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart of a method for constructing path informationbased on new CM type message exchange, including correlation with fabricminimum/maximum values, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart for creation and joining of a multicastgroup (MCG), in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 30 shows a flow chart for responding to a request for an MLID(e.g., a request to join an MCG) by an end port, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 31 shows an exemplary multicast packet route that can be determinedvia a spanning tree algorithm for a limited partition member MLID insubnet, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 32 shows a flow chart for configuring an end-port for use with dualMLIDs allocated for an MCG, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 33 illustrates a flow chart for providing dual multicast localidentifiers (MLIDs) per multicast group to facilitate both full andlimited partition members in a high performance computing environment,in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 34 shows a flow chart for providing multicast group membershipdefined relative to partition membership in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup membership defined relative to partition membership in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 36 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup membership defined relative to partition membership in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart of a method for updating a default MLID table ofan end-port according to a partition table of the end-port, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 38 is flow chart of a method for determining, by an IB client,default MLID values from the default MLID table of a supportingend-port, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 39 illustrates a flow chart of a method for providing defaultmulticast local identifier (MLID) values per partition as additionalsubnet management agent (SMA) attributes in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 40 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup multicast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of a method for providing multicast groupmulticast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for a relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) ina high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of a method for providing multicast groupmulticast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 43 illustrates a flow chart for maintaining records of bothpartition specific MLIDs as well as dedicated MCG MLIDs for outgoingmulticast packets, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 44 illustrates a flow chart for a method of providing end-nodedynamic discovery of a multicast local identifier in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 45 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide explicitmulticast local identifier (MLID) assignment for partition specificdefault MLIDs defined as SM policy input, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 46 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide explicitmulticast local identifier (MLID) assignment for per partition defaultMLIDs defined as SM policy input, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 47 illustrates two independent fat-tree based subnets, each havingexplicit multicast local identifier (MLID) assignment for partitionspecific default MLIDs defined as SM policy input, before a subnet mergeoperation, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 48 shows a single fat-tree based subnet having explicit multicastlocal identifier (MLID) assignment for partition specific default MLIDsdefined as SM policy input after a subnet merge operation.

FIG. 49 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) for announcements and discovery as extended port informationin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 50 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide a defaultmulticast group (MCG) for announcements and discovery as extended portinformation in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 51 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 52 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 53 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 54 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 56 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 57 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide a defaultmulticast group (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 58 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use queue pair 1 (QP1)for receiving multicast based announcements in multiple partitions in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 59 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 60 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 61 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 62 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 63 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 64 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use queue pair 1 (QP1)for receiving multicast based announcements in multiple partitions in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 65 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use all incomingmulticast (MC) packets as a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) tolocal identifier (LID) cache contents in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 66 illustrates a system to use all incoming multicast (MC) packetsas a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) to local identifier (LID)cache contents in a high performance computing environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 67 illustrates a system to use all incoming multicast (MC) packetsas a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) to local identifier (LID)cache contents in a high performance computing environment, inaccordance with an embodiment

FIG. 68 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use all incomingmulticast (MC) packets as a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) tolocal identifier (LID) cache contents in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 69 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 70 illustrates a system to provide combined IB and IP address andname resolution schemes via default IB multicast groups in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.More particularly, the figure shows a conventional GUID to LID cache.

FIG. 71 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 72 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is illustrated, by way of example and not by way oflimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements. It should be noted that referencesto “an” or “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in this disclosure are notnecessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at leastone. While specific implementations are discussed, it is understood thatthe specific implementations are provided for illustrative purposesonly. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that othercomponents and configurations may be used without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention.

Common reference numerals can be used to indicate like elementsthroughout the drawings and detailed description; therefore, referencenumerals used in a figure may or may not be referenced in the detaileddescription specific to such figure if the element is describedelsewhere.

Described herein are systems and methods to provide homogenous fabricattributes to reduce the need for SA (subnet administrator) access in ahigh performance computing environment.

The following description of the invention uses an InfiniBand™ (IB)network as an example for a high performance network. Throughout thefollowing description, reference can be made to the InfiniBand™specification (also referred to variously as the InfiniBandspecification, IB specification, or the legacy IB specification). Suchreference is understood to refer to the InfiniBand® Trade AssociationArchitecture Specification, Volume 1, Version 1.3, released March, 2015,available at http://www.inifinibandta.org, which is herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety. It will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that other types of high performance networks can be usedwithout limitation. The following description also uses the fat-treetopology as an example for a fabric topology. It will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that other types of fabric topologies can beused without limitation.

To meet the demands of the cloud in the current era (e.g., Exascaleera), it is desirable for virtual machines to be able to utilize lowoverhead network communication paradigms such as Remote Direct MemoryAccess (RDMA). RDMA bypasses the OS stack and communicates directly withthe hardware, thus, pass-through technology like Single-Root I/OVirtualization (SR-IOV) network adapters can be used. In accordance withan embodiment, a virtual switch (vSwitch) SR-IOV architecture can beprovided for applicability in high performance lossless interconnectionnetworks. As network reconfiguration time is critical to makelive-migration a practical option, in addition to network architecture,a scalable and topology-agnostic dynamic reconfiguration mechanism canbe provided.

In accordance with an embodiment, and furthermore, routing strategiesfor virtualized environments using vSwitches can be provided, and anefficient routing algorithm for network topologies (e.g., Fat-Treetopologies) can be provided. The dynamic reconfiguration mechanism canbe further tuned to minimize imposed overhead in Fat-Trees.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, virtualization can bebeneficial to efficient resource utilization and elastic resourceallocation in cloud computing. Live migration makes it possible tooptimize resource usage by moving virtual machines (VMs) betweenphysical servers in an application transparent manner. Thus,virtualization can enable consolidation, on-demand provisioning ofresources, and elasticity through live migration.

InfiniBand™

InfiniBand™ (IB) is an open standard lossless network technologydeveloped by the InfiniBand™ Trade Association. The technology is basedon a serial point-to-point full-duplex interconnect that offers highthroughput and low latency communication, geared particularly towardshigh-performance computing (HPC) applications and datacenters.

The InfiniBand™ Architecture (IBA) supports a two-layer topologicaldivision. At the lower layer, IB networks are referred to as subnets,where a subnet can include a set of hosts interconnected using switchesand point-to-point links. At the higher level, an IB fabric constitutesone or more subnets, which can be interconnected using routers.

Within a subnet, hosts can be connected using switches andpoint-to-point links. Additionally, there can be a master managemententity, the subnet manager (SM), which resides on a designated device inthe subnet. The subnet manager is responsible for configuring,activating and maintaining the IB subnet. Additionally, the subnetmanager (SM) can be responsible for performing routing tablecalculations in an IB fabric. Here, for example, the routing of the IBnetwork aims at proper load balancing between all source and destinationpairs in the local subnet.

The SM is responsible for providing subnet administration (SA) to thelocal subnet. SA provides access to, and storage of, information ofseveral types with respect to the local subnet. In order to provide SA,the subnet manager generally maintains a query-able database for storingsubnet-related information. Examples of information generallystored/provided by SA include information that end-nodes require foroperation in a subnet such as paths between end-nodes, notification ofevents, service attributes, etc.; non-algorithmic information such aspartitioning data, M_Keys, etc.; optional information that may be usefulto other management entities, such as topology data, switch forwardingtables, etc.

Data provided by SA is accessed, queried, and or reported through theuse of Management Datagrams (MADs). MADs are standardized managementpackets, and, among other uses, allow management operations between theSM/SA and IB devices, and between IB devices, themselves.

Through the subnet management interface, the subnet manager exchangescontrol packets, which are referred to as subnet management packets(SMPs—which are a subset of MADs), with subnet management agents (SMAs).A subnet management agent resides on every IB subnet device. By usingSMPs, the subnet manager is able to discover the fabric, configure endnodes and switches, and receive notifications from SMAs.

Through the subnet management interface, the subnet manager exchangescontrol packets, which are referred to as subnet management packets(SMPs), with subnet management agents (SMAs). The subnet managementagents reside on every IB subnet device. By using SMPs, the subnetmanager is able to discover the fabric, configure end nodes andswitches, and receive notifications from SMAs.

In accordance with an embodiment, intra-subnet routing in an IB networkcan be based on linear forwarding tables (LFTs) stored in the switches.The LFTs are calculated by the SM according to the routing mechanism inuse. In a subnet, Host Channel Adapter (HCA) ports on the end nodes andswitches are addressed using local identifiers (LIDs). Each entry in alinear forwarding table (LFT) consists of a destination LID (DLID) andan output port. Only one entry per LID in the table is supported. When apacket arrives at a switch, its output port is determined by looking upthe DLID in the forwarding table of the switch. The routing isdeterministic as packets take the same path in the network between agiven source-destination pair (LID pair).

Generally, all other subnet managers, excepting the master subnetmanager, act in standby mode for fault-tolerance. In a situation where amaster subnet manager fails, however, a new master subnet manager isnegotiated by the standby subnet managers. The master subnet manageralso performs periodic sweeps of the subnet to detect any topologychanges and reconfigure the network accordingly.

In an IB subnet, each end-node can contain one or more Host ChannelAdapters (HCAs). HCAs are responsible for generating and sending datapackets, and for receiving and processing data packets. Each HostChannel Adapter (HCA) can have one or more ports. An HCA's ports areused to connect the HCA, and the end-node that contains the HCA, to thenetwork fabric. For example, the ports of an HCA can be connected to asubnet switch via physical media, such as a cable (e.g., a twisted-paircopper, or optical fiber, cable).

HCA ports connected to the network fabric are assigned local identifiers(LIDs) by the local subnet manager (i.e., the subnet manager for thesubnet that the HCA is connected to). The LIDs are used to address theHCA ports. Other subnet nodes can also be assigned LIDs by the localsubnet manager. For example, subnet hosts and switches can be assigned alocal identifier (LID) by the subnet manager, and can be addressed bytheir assigned LIDs. LIDs are unique within a subnet, and a singlesubnet can be limited to 49151 unicast LIDs.

In accordance with an embodiment, intra-subnet routing in an IB networkcan be based on linear forwarding tables (LFTs) stored in local subnetswitches. The LFTs are calculated by the SM according to the routingmechanism in use. Each data packet contains a Source LID (SLID) thatidentifies the port that created the packet, and a Destination LID(DLID) that identifies the port that the packet is to be delivered to.Additionally, each entry in a linear forwarding table (LFT) consists ofa DLID and an output port. Only one entry per LID in the table issupported. When a packet arrives at a switch, its output port isdetermined by looking up the DLID of the packet in the forwarding tableof the switch. The packet is then forwarded, outbound, via the switchport that corresponds to the packet's DLID in the LFT. The routing isdeterministic as packets take the same path in the network between agiven source-destination pair (LID pair).

Furthermore, hosts and switches within a subnet can be addressed usinglocal identifiers (LIDs), and a single subnet can be limited to 49151unicast LIDs. Besides the LIDs, which are the local addresses that arevalid within a subnet, each IB device can have a 64-bit global uniqueidentifier (GUID). A GUID can be used to form a global identifier (GID),which is an IB layer three (L3) address.

The SM can calculate routing tables (i.e., the connections/routesbetween each pair of nodes within the subnet) at network initializationtime. Furthermore, the routing tables can be updated whenever thetopology changes, in order to ensure connectivity and optimalperformance. During normal operations, the SM can perform periodic lightsweeps of the network to check for topology changes. If a change isdiscovered during a light sweep or if a message (trap) signaling anetwork change is received by the SM, the SM can reconfigure the networkaccording to the discovered changes.

For example, the SM can reconfigure the network when the networktopology changes, such as when a link goes down, when a device is added,or when a link is removed. The reconfiguration steps can include thesteps performed during the network initialization. Furthermore, thereconfigurations can have a local scope that is limited to the subnets,in which the network changes occurred. Also, the segmenting of a largefabric with routers may limit the reconfiguration scope.

Besides LIDs, which are the local addresses that are valid and uniquewithin a subnet, each IB device (e.g., an HCA or a switch) can have a64-bit global unique identifier (GUID). Additionally, each port of anHCA can have its own GUID. The GUIDs of an IB device can be assigned bythe vendor of the device. The GUIDs of an IB device can be hard-codedinto the device, much like a media access control (MAC) address of anetwork interface card. A GUID can be used to form a global identifier(GID), which is an IB layer three (L3) address.

An example InfiniBand fabric is shown in FIG. 1, which shows anillustration of an InfiniBand environment 100, in accordance with anembodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, nodes A-E, 101-105, use theInfiniBand fabric, 120, to communicate, via the respective host channeladapters 111-115. In accordance with an embodiment, the various nodes,e.g., nodes A-E, 101-105, can be represented by various physicaldevices. In accordance with an embodiment, the various nodes, e.g.,nodes A-E, 101-105, can be represented by various virtual devices, suchas virtual machines.

Partitioning in InfiniBand

In accordance with an embodiment, IB networks can support partitioningas a security mechanism to provide for isolation of logical groups ofsystems sharing a network fabric. Each HCA port on a node in the fabriccan be a member of one or more partitions. Partition memberships aremanaged by a centralized partition manager, which can be part of the SM.The SM can configure partition membership information on each port as atable of 16-bit partition keys (P_Keys). The SM can also configureswitch and router ports with the partition enforcement tables containingP_Key information associated with the end-nodes that send or receivedata traffic through these ports. Additionally, in a general case,partition membership of a switch port can represent a union of allmembership indirectly associated with LIDs routed via the port in anegress (towards the link) direction.

A P_Key can specify one of two types of partition membership: limited orfull. The high order bit of the P_Key is used to specify the type ofmembership of an HCA having the P_Key in its P_Key table. A value of 1indicates a full member, while a value of 0 indicates a limited member.Limited partition members cannot accept packets from other limitedmembers. Communication is allowed, however, between every othercombination of membership types.

In accordance with an embodiment, partitions are logical groups of portssuch that the members of a group can only communicate to other membersof the same logical group. At host channel adapters (HCAs) and switches,packets can be filtered using the partition membership information toenforce isolation. Packets with invalid partitioning information can bedropped as soon as the packets reaches an incoming port. In partitionedIB systems, partitions can be used to create tenant clusters. Withpartition enforcement in place, a node cannot communicate with othernodes that belong to a different tenant cluster. In this way, thesecurity of the system can be guaranteed even in the presence ofcompromised or malicious tenant nodes.

In accordance with an embodiment, for the communication between nodes,Queue Pairs (QPs) and End-to-End contexts (EECs) can be assigned to aparticular partition, except for the management Queue Pairs (QP0 andQP1). The P_Key information can then be added to every IB transportpacket sent. When a packet arrives at an HCA port or a switch, its P_Keyvalue can be validated against a table configured by the SM. If aninvalid P_Key value is found, the packet is discarded immediately. Inthis way, communication is allowed only between ports sharing apartition.

An example of IB partitions is shown in FIG. 2, which shows anillustration of a partitioned cluster environment, in accordance with anembodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 2, nodes A-E, 101-105, use theInfiniBand fabric, 120, to communicate, via the respective host channeladapters 111-115. The nodes A-E are arranged into partitions, namelypartition 1, 130, partition 2, 140, and partition 3, 150. Partition 1comprises node A 101 and node D 104. Partition 2 comprises node A 101,node B 102, and node C 103. Partition 3 comprises node C 103 and node E105. Because of the arrangement of the partitions, node D 104 and node E105 are not allowed to communicate as these nodes do not share apartition. Meanwhile, for example, node A 101 and node C 103 are allowedto communicate as these nodes are both members of partition 2, 140.

Virtual Machines in InfiniBand

During the last decade, the prospect of virtualized High PerformanceComputing (HPC) environments has improved considerably as CPU overheadhas been practically removed through hardware virtualization support;memory overhead has been significantly reduced by virtualizing theMemory Management Unit; storage overhead has been reduced by the use offast SAN storages or distributed networked file systems; and network I/Ooverhead has been reduced by the use of device passthrough techniqueslike Single Root Input/Output Virtualization (SR-IOV). It is nowpossible for clouds to accommodate virtual HPC (vHPC) clusters usinghigh performance interconnect solutions and deliver the necessaryperformance.

However, when coupled with lossless networks, such as InfiniBand (IB),certain cloud functionality, such as live migration of virtual machines(VMs), still remains an issue due to the complicated addressing androuting schemes used in these solutions. IB is an interconnectionnetwork technology offering high bandwidth and low latency, thus, isvery well suited for HPC and other communication intensive workloads.

The traditional approach for connecting IB devices to VMs is byutilizing SR-IOV with direct assignment. However, achieving livemigration of VMs assigned with IB Host Channel Adapters (HCAs) usingSR-IOV has proved to be challenging. Each IB connected node has threedifferent addresses: LID, GUID, and GID. When a live migration happens,one or more of these addresses change. Other nodes communicating withthe VM-in-migration can lose connectivity. When this happens, the lostconnection can be attempted to be renewed by locating the virtualmachine's new address to reconnect to by sending Subnet Administration(SA) path record queries to the IB Subnet Manager (SM).

IB uses three different types of addresses. A first type of address isthe 16 bits Local Identifier (LID). At least one unique LID is assignedto each HCA port and each switch by the SM. The LIDs are used to routetraffic within a subnet. Since the LID is 16 bits long, 65536 uniqueaddress combinations can be made, of which only 49151 (0x0001-0xBFFF)can be used as unicast addresses. Consequently, the number of availableunicast addresses defines the maximum size of an IB subnet. A secondtype of address is the 64 bits Global Unique Identifier (GUID) assignedby the manufacturer to each device (e.g. HCAs and switches) and each HCAport. The SM may assign additional subnet unique GUIDs to an HCA port,which is useful when SR-IOV is used. A third type of address is the 128bits Global Identifier (GID). The GID is a valid IPv6 unicast address,and at least one is assigned to each HCA port. The GID is formed bycombining a globally unique 64 bits prefix assigned by the fabricadministrator, and the GUID address of each HCA port.

Fat-Tree (FTree) Topologies and Routing

In accordance with an embodiment, some of the IB based HPC systemsemploy a fat-tree topology to take advantage of the useful propertiesfat-trees offer. These properties include full bisection-bandwidth andinherent fault-tolerance due to the availability of multiple pathsbetween each source destination pair. The initial idea behind fat-treeswas to employ fatter links between nodes, with more available bandwidth,as the tree moves towards the roots of the topology. The fatter linkscan help to avoid congestion in the upper-level switches and thebisection-bandwidth is maintained.

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of a tree topology in a networkenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, oneor more end nodes 201-204 can be connected in a network fabric 200. Thenetwork fabric 200 can be based on a fat-tree topology, which includes aplurality of leaf switches 211-214, and multiple spine switches or rootswitches 231-234. Additionally, the network fabric 200 can include oneor more intermediate switches, such as switches 221-224.

Also as shown in FIG. 3, each of the end nodes 201-204 can be amulti-homed node, i.e., a single node that is connected to two or moreparts of the network fabric 200 through multiple ports. For example, thenode 201 can include the ports H1 and H2, the node 202 can include theports H3 and H4, the node 203 can include the ports H5 and H6, and thenode 204 can include the ports H7 and H8.

Additionally, each switch can have multiple switch ports. For example,the root switch 231 can have the switch ports 1-2, the root switch 232can have the switch ports 3-4, the root switch 233 can have the switchports 5-6, and the root switch 234 can have the switch ports 7-8.

In accordance with an embodiment, the fat-tree routing mechanism is oneof the most popular routing algorithm for IB based fat-tree topologies.The fat-tree routing mechanism is also implemented in the OFED (OpenFabric Enterprise Distribution—a standard software stack for buildingand deploying IB based applications) subnet manager, OpenSM.

The fat-tree routing mechanism aims to generate LFTs that evenly spreadshortest-path routes across the links in the network fabric. Themechanism traverses the fabric in the indexing order and assigns targetLIDs of the end nodes, and thus the corresponding routes, to each switchport. For the end nodes connected to the same leaf switch, the indexingorder can depend on the switch port to which the end node is connected(i.e., port numbering sequence). For each port, the mechanism canmaintain a port usage counter, and can use this port usage counter toselect a least-used port each time a new route is added.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a partitioned subnet, nodes thatare not members of a common partition are not allowed to communicate.Practically, this means that some of the routes assigned by the fat-treerouting algorithm are not used for the user traffic. The problem ariseswhen the fat tree routing mechanism generates LFTs for those routes thesame way it does for the other functional paths. This behavior canresult in degraded balancing on the links, as nodes are routed in theorder of indexing. As routing can be performed oblivious to thepartitions, fat-tree routed subnets, in general, provide poor isolationamong partitions.

In accordance with an embodiment, a Fat-Tree is a hierarchical networktopology that can scale with the available network resources. Moreover,Fat-Trees are easy to build using commodity switches placed on differentlevels of the hierarchy. Different variations of Fat-Trees are commonlyavailable, including k-ary-n-trees, Extended Generalized Fat-Trees(XGFTs), Parallel Ports Generalized Fat-Trees (PGFTs) and Real LifeFat-Trees (RLFTs).

A k-ary-n-tree is an n level Fat-Tree with k^(n) end nodes and n·k^(n−1)switches, each with 2k ports. Each switch has an equal number of up anddown connections in the tree. XGFT Fat-Tree extends k-ary-n-trees byallowing both different number of up and down connections for theswitches, and different number of connections at each level in the tree.The PGFT definition further broadens the XGFT topologies and permitsmultiple connections between switches. A large variety of topologies canbe defined using XGFTs and PGFTs. However, for practical purposes, RLFT,which is a restricted version of PGFT, is introduced to define Fat-Treescommonly found in today's HPC clusters. An RLFT uses the same port-countswitches at all levels in the Fat-Tree.

Input/Output (I/O) Virtualization

In accordance with an embodiment, I/O Virtualization (IOV) can provideavailability of I/O by allowing virtual machines (VMs) to access theunderlying physical resources. The combination of storage traffic andinter-server communication impose an increased load that may overwhelmthe I/O resources of a single server, leading to backlogs and idleprocessors as they are waiting for data. With the increase in number ofI/O requests, IOV can provide availability; and can improve performance,scalability and flexibility of the (virtualized) I/O resources to matchthe level of performance seen in modern CPU virtualization.

In accordance with an embodiment, IOV is desired as it can allow sharingof I/O resources and provide protected access to the resources from theVMs. IOV decouples a logical device, which is exposed to a VM, from itsphysical implementation. Currently, there can be different types of IOVtechnologies, such as emulation, paravirtualization, direct assignment(DA), and single root-I/O virtualization (SR-IOV).

In accordance with an embodiment, one type of IOV technology is softwareemulation. Software emulation can allow for a decoupledfront-end/back-end software architecture. The front-end can be a devicedriver placed in the VM, communicating with the back-end implemented bya hypervisor to provide I/O access. The physical device sharing ratio ishigh and live migrations of VMs are possible with just a fewmilliseconds of network downtime. However, software emulation introducesadditional, undesired computational overhead.

In accordance with an embodiment, another type of IOV technology isdirect device assignment. Direct device assignment involves a couplingof I/O devices to VMs, with no device sharing between VMs. Directassignment or device passthrough, provides near to native performancewith minimum overhead. The physical device bypasses the hypervisor andis directly attached to the VM. However, a downside of such directdevice assignment is limited scalability, as there is no sharing amongvirtual machines—one physical network card is coupled with one VM.

In accordance with an embodiment, Single Root IOV (SR-IOV) can allow aphysical device to appear through hardware virtualization as multipleindependent lightweight instances of the same device. These instancescan be assigned to VMs as passthrough devices, and accessed as VirtualFunctions (VFs). The hypervisor accesses the device through a unique(per device), fully featured Physical Function (PF). SR-IOV eases thescalability issue of pure direct assignment. However, a problempresented by SR-IOV is that it can impair VM migration. Among these IOVtechnologies, SR-IOV can extend the PCI Express (PCIe) specificationwith the means to allow direct access to a single physical device frommultiple VMs while maintaining near to native performance. Thus, SR-IOVcan provide good performance and scalability.

SR-IOV allows a PCIe device to expose multiple virtual devices that canbe shared between multiple guests by allocating one virtual device toeach guest. Each SR-IOV device has at least one physical function (PF)and one or more associated virtual functions (VF). A PF is a normal PCIefunction controlled by the virtual machine monitor (VMM), or hypervisor,whereas a VF is a light-weight PCIe function. Each VF has its own baseaddress (BAR) and is assigned with a unique requester ID that enablesI/O memory management unit (IOMMU) to differentiate between the trafficstreams to/from different VFs. The IOMMU also apply memory and interrupttranslations between the PF and the VFs.

Unfortunately, however, direct device assignment techniques pose abarrier for cloud providers in situations where transparent livemigration of virtual machines is desired for data center optimization.The essence of live migration is that the memory contents of a VM arecopied to a remote hypervisor. Then the VM is paused at the sourcehypervisor, and the VM's operation is resumed at the destination. Whenusing software emulation methods, the network interfaces are virtual sotheir internal states are stored into the memory and get copied as well.Thus the downtime could be brought down to a few milliseconds.

However, migration becomes more difficult when direct device assignmenttechniques, such as SR-IOV, are used. In such situations, a completeinternal state of the network interface cannot be copied as it is tiedto the hardware. The SR-IOV VFs assigned to a VM are instead detached,the live migration will run, and a new VF will be attached at thedestination. In the case of InfiniBand and SR-IOV, this process canintroduce downtime in the order of seconds. Moreover, in an SR-IOVshared port model the addresses of the VM will change after themigration, causing additional overhead in the SM and a negative impacton the performance of the underlying network fabric.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture—Shared Port

There can be different types of SR-IOV models, e.g. a shared port model,a virtual switch model, and a virtual port model.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary shared port architecture, in accordance withan embodiment. As depicted in the figure, a host 300 (e.g., a hostchannel adapter) can interact with a hypervisor 310, which can assignthe various virtual functions 330, 340, 350, to a number of virtualmachines. As well, the physical function can be handled by thehypervisor 310.

In accordance with an embodiment, when using a shared port architecture,such as that depicted in FIG. 4, the host, e.g., HCA, appears as asingle port in the network with a single shared LID and shared QueuePair (QP) space between the physical function 320 and the virtualfunctions 330, 350, 350. However, each function (i.e., physical functionand virtual functions) can have their own GID.

As shown in FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment, different GIDs canbe assigned to the virtual functions and the physical function, and thespecial queue pairs, QP0 and QP1 (i.e., special purpose queue pairs thatare used for InfiniBand management packets), are owned by the physicalfunction. These QPs are exposed to the VFs as well, but the VFs are notallowed to use QP0 (all SMPs coming from VFs towards QP0 are discarded),and QP1 can act as a proxy of the actual QP1 owned by the PF.

In accordance with an embodiment, the shared port architecture can allowfor highly scalable data centers that are not limited by the number ofVMs (which attach to the network by being assigned to the virtualfunctions), as the LID space is only consumed by physical machines andswitches in the network.

However, a shortcoming of the shared port architecture is the inabilityto provide transparent live migration, hindering the potential forflexible VM placement. As each LID is associated with a specifichypervisor, and shared among all VMs residing on the hypervisor, amigrating VM (i.e., a virtual machine migrating to a destinationhypervisor) has to have its LID changed to the LID of the destinationhypervisor. Furthermore, as a consequence of the restricted QP0 access,a subnet manager cannot run inside a VM.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture Models—Virtual Switch (vSwitch)

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture, in accordance with anembodiment. As depicted in the figure, a host 400 (e.g., a host channeladapter) can interact with a hypervisor 410, which can assign thevarious virtual functions 430, 440, 450, to a number of virtualmachines. As well, the physical function can be handled by thehypervisor 410. A virtual switch 415 can also be handled by thehypervisor 401.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a vSwitch architecture each virtualfunction 430, 440, 450 is a complete virtual Host Channel Adapter(vHCA), meaning that the VM assigned to a VF is assigned a complete setof IB addresses (e.g., GID, GUID, LID) and a dedicated QP space in thehardware. For the rest of the network and the SM, the HCA 400 looks likea switch, via the virtual switch 415, with additional nodes connected toit. The hypervisor 410 can use the PF 420, and the VMs (attached to thevirtual functions) use the VFs.

In accordance with an embodiment, a vSwitch architecture providetransparent virtualization. However, because each virtual function isassigned a unique LID, the number of available LIDs gets consumedrapidly. As well, with many LID addresses in use (i.e., one each foreach physical function and each virtual function), more communicationpaths have to be computed by the SM and more Subnet Management Packets(SMPs) have to be sent to the switches in order to update their LFTs.For example, the computation of the communication paths might takeseveral minutes in large networks. Because LID space is limited to 49151unicast LIDs, and as each VM (via a VF), physical node, and switchoccupies one LID each, the number of physical nodes and switches in thenetwork limits the number of active VMs, and vice versa.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture Models—Virtual Port (vPort)

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary vPort concept, in accordance with anembodiment. As depicted in the figure, a host 300 (e.g., a host channeladapter) can interact with a hypervisor 410, which can assign thevarious virtual functions 330, 340, 350, to a number of virtualmachines. As well, the physical function can be handled by thehypervisor 310.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vPort concept is loosely definedin order to give freedom of implementation to vendors (e.g. thedefinition does not rule that the implementation has to be SRIOVspecific), and a goal of the vPort is to standardize the way VMs arehandled in subnets. With the vPort concept, both SR-IOV Shared-Port-likeand vSwitch-like architectures or a combination of both, that can bemore scalable in both the space and performance domains, can be defined.A vPort supports optional LIDs, and unlike the Shared-Port, the SM isaware of all the vPorts available in a subnet even if a vPort is notusing a dedicated LID.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture Models—vSwitch with Prepopulated LIDs

In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides asystem and method for providing a vSwitch architecture with prepopulatedLIDs.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with prepopulated LIDs,in accordance with an embodiment. As depicted in the figure, a number ofswitches 501-504 can provide communication within the network switchedenvironment 600 (e.g., an IB subnet) between members of a fabric, suchas an InfiniBand fabric. The fabric can include a number of hardwaredevices, such as host channel adapters 510, 520, 530. Each of the hostchannel adapters 510, 520, 530, can in turn interact with a hypervisor511, 521, and 531, respectively. Each hypervisor can, in turn, inconjunction with the host channel adapter it interacts with, setup andassign a number of virtual functions 514, 515, 516, 524, 525, 526, 534,535, 536, to a number of virtual machines. For example, virtual machine1 550 can be assigned by the hypervisor 511 to virtual function 1 514.Hypervisor 511 can additionally assign virtual machine 2 551 to virtualfunction 2 515, and virtual machine 3 552 to virtual function 3 516.Hypervisor 531 can, in turn, assign virtual machine 4 553 to virtualfunction 1 534. The hypervisors can access the host channel adaptersthrough a fully featured physical function 513, 523, 533, on each of thehost channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the switches 501-504 cancomprise a number of ports (not shown), which are used in setting alinear forwarding table in order to direct traffic within the networkswitched environment 600.

In accordance with an embodiment, the virtual switches 512, 522, and532, can be handled by their respective hypervisors 511, 521, 531. Insuch a vSwitch architecture each virtual function is a complete virtualHost Channel Adapter (vHCA), meaning that the VM assigned to a VF isassigned a complete set of IB addresses (e.g., GID, GUID, LID) and adedicated QP space in the hardware. For the rest of the network and theSM (not shown), the HCAs 510, 520, and 530 look like a switch, via thevirtual switches, with additional nodes connected to them.

In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides asystem and method for providing a vSwitch architecture with prepopulatedLIDs. Referring to FIG. 7, the LIDs are prepopulated to the variousphysical functions 513, 523, 533, as well as the virtual functions514-516, 524-526, 534-536 (even those virtual functions not currentlyassociated with an active virtual machine). For example, physicalfunction 513 is prepopulated with LID 1, while virtual function 1 534 isprepopulated with LID 10. The LIDs are prepopulated in an SR-IOVvSwitch-enabled subnet when the network is booted. Even when not all ofthe VFs are occupied by VMs in the network, the populated VFs areassigned with a LID as shown in FIG. 7.

In accordance with an embodiment, much like physical host channeladapters can have more than one port (two ports are common forredundancy), virtual HCAs can also be represented with two ports and beconnected via one, two or more virtual switches to the external IBsubnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a vSwitch architecture withprepopulated LIDs, each hypervisor can consume one LID for itselfthrough the PF and one more LID for each additional VF. The sum of allthe VFs available in all hypervisors in an IB subnet, gives the maximumamount of VMs that are allowed to run in the subnet. For example, in anIB subnet with 16 virtual functions per hypervisor in the subnet, theneach hypervisor consumes 17 LIDs (one LID for each of the 16 virtualfunctions plus one LID for the physical function) in the subnet. In suchan IB subnet, the theoretical hypervisor limit for a single subnet isruled by the number of available unicast LIDs and is: 2891 (49151available LIDs divided by 17 LIDs per hypervisor), and the total numberof VMs (i.e., the limit) is 46256 (2891 hypervisors times 16 VFs perhypervisor). (In actuality, these numbers are actually smaller sinceeach switch, router, or dedicated SM node in the IB subnet consumes aLID as well). Note that the vSwitch does not need to occupy anadditional LID as it can share the LID with the PF

In accordance with an embodiment, in a vSwitch architecture withprepopulated LIDs, communication paths are computed for all the LIDs thefirst time the network is booted. When a new VM needs to be started thesystem does not have to add a new LID in the subnet, an action thatwould otherwise cause a complete reconfiguration of the network,including path recalculation, which is the most time consuming part.Instead, an available port for a VM is located (i.e., an availablevirtual function) in one of the hypervisors and the virtual machine isattached to the available virtual function.

In accordance with an embodiment, a vSwitch architecture withprepopulated LIDs also allows for the ability to calculate and usedifferent paths to reach different VMs hosted by the same hypervisor.Essentially, this allows for such subnets and networks to use a LID MaskControl (LMC) like feature to provide alternative paths towards onephysical machine, without being bound by the limitation of the LMC thatrequires the LIDs to be sequential. The freedom to use non-sequentialLIDs is particularly useful when a VM needs to be migrated and carry itsassociated LID to the destination.

In accordance with an embodiment, along with the benefits shown above ofa vSwitch architecture with prepopulated LIDs, certain considerationscan be taken into account. For example, because the LIDs areprepopulated in an SR-IOV vSwitch-enabled subnet when the network isbooted, the initial path computation (e.g., on boot-up) can take longerthan if the LIDs were not pre-populated.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture Models—vSwitch with Dynamic LIDAssignment

In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides asystem and method for providing a vSwitch architecture with dynamic LIDassignment.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with dynamic LIDassignment, in accordance with an embodiment. As depicted in the figure,a number of switches 501-504 can provide communication within thenetwork switched environment 700 (e.g., an IB subnet) between members ofa fabric, such as an InfiniBand fabric. The fabric can include a numberof hardware devices, such as host channel adapters 510, 520, 530. Eachof the host channel adapters 510, 520, 530, can in turn interact with ahypervisor 511, 521, 531, respectively. Each hypervisor can, in turn, inconjunction with the host channel adapter it interacts with, setup andassign a number of virtual functions 514, 515, 516, 524, 525, 526, 534,535, 536, to a number of virtual machines. For example, virtual machine1 550 can be assigned by the hypervisor 511 to virtual function 1 514.Hypervisor 511 can additionally assign virtual machine 2 551 to virtualfunction 2 515, and virtual machine 3 552 to virtual function 3 516.Hypervisor 531 can, in turn, assign virtual machine 4 553 to virtualfunction 1 534. The hypervisors can access the host channel adaptersthrough a fully featured physical function 513, 523, 533, on each of thehost channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the switches 501-504 cancomprise a number of ports (not shown), which are used in setting alinear forwarding table in order to direct traffic within the networkswitched environment 700.

In accordance with an embodiment, the virtual switches 512, 522, and532, can be handled by their respective hypervisors 511, 521, 531. Insuch a vSwitch architecture each virtual function is a complete virtualHost Channel Adapter (vHCA), meaning that the VM assigned to a VF isassigned a complete set of IB addresses (e.g., GID, GUID, LID) and adedicated QP space in the hardware. For the rest of the network and theSM (not shown), the HCAs 510, 520, and 530 look like a switch, via thevirtual switches, with additional nodes connected to them.

In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides asystem and method for providing a vSwitch architecture with dynamic LIDassignment. Referring to FIG. 8, the LIDs are dynamically assigned tothe various physical functions 513, 523, 533, with physical function 513receiving LID 1, physical function 523 receiving LID 2, and physicalfunction 533 receiving LID 3. Those virtual functions that areassociated with an active virtual machine can also receive a dynamicallyassigned LID. For example, because virtual machine 1 550 is active andassociated with virtual function 1 514, virtual function 514 can beassigned LID 5. Likewise, virtual function 2 515, virtual function 3516, and virtual function 1 534 are each associated with an activevirtual function. Because of this, these virtual functions are assignedLIDs, with LID 7 being assigned to virtual function 2 515, LID 11 beingassigned to virtual function 3 516, and LID 9 being assigned to virtualfunction 1 534. Unlike vSwitch with prepopulated LIDs, those virtualfunctions not currently associated with an active virtual machine do notreceive a LID assignment.

In accordance with an embodiment, with the dynamic LID assignment, theinitial path computation can be substantially reduced. When the networkis booting for the first time and no VMs are present then a relativelysmall number of LIDs can be used for the initial path calculation andLFT distribution.

In accordance with an embodiment, much like physical host channeladapters can have more than one port (two ports are common forredundancy), virtual HCAs can also be represented with two ports and beconnected via one, two or more virtual switches to the external IBsubnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, when a new VM is created in a systemutilizing vSwitch with dynamic LID assignment, a free VM slot is foundin order to decide on which hypervisor to boot the newly added VM, and aunique non-used unicast LID is found as well. However, there are noknown paths in the network and the LFTs of the switches for handling thenewly added LID. Computing a new set of paths in order to handle thenewly added VM is not desirable in a dynamic environment where severalVMs may be booted every minute. In large IB subnets, computing a new setof routes can take several minutes, and this procedure would have torepeat each time a new VM is booted.

Advantageously, in accordance with an embodiment, because all the VFs ina hypervisor share the same uplink with the PF, there is no need tocompute a new set of routes. It is only needed to iterate through theLFTs of all the physical switches in the network, copy the forwardingport from the LID entry that belongs to the PF of the hypervisor—wherethe VM is created—to the newly added LID, and send a single SMP toupdate the corresponding LFT block of the particular switch. Thus thesystem and method avoids the need to compute a new set of routes.

In accordance with an embodiment, the LIDs assigned in the vSwitch withdynamic LID assignment architecture do not have to be sequential. Whencomparing the LIDs assigned on VMs on each hypervisor in vSwitch withprepopulated LIDs versus vSwitch with dynamic LID assignment, it isnotable that the LIDs assigned in the dynamic LID assignmentarchitecture are non-sequential, while those prepopulated in aresequential in nature. In the vSwitch dynamic LID assignmentarchitecture, when a new VM is created, the next available LID is usedthroughout the lifetime of the VM. Conversely, in a vSwitch withprepopulated LIDs, each VM inherits the LID that is already assigned tothe corresponding VF, and in a network without live migrations, VMsconsecutively attached to a given VF get the same LID.

In accordance with an embodiment, the vSwitch with dynamic LIDassignment architecture can resolve the drawbacks of the vSwitch withprepopulated LIDs architecture model at a cost of some additionalnetwork and runtime SM overhead. Each time a VM is created, the LFTs ofthe physical switches in the subnet are updated with the newly added LIDassociated with the created VM. One subnet management packet (SMP) perswitch is needed to be sent for this operation. The LMC-likefunctionality is also not available, because each VM is using the samepath as its host hypervisor. However, there is no limitation on thetotal amount of VFs present in all hypervisors, and the number of VFsmay exceed that of the unicast LID limit. Of course, not all of the VFsare allowed to be attached on active VMs simultaneously if this is thecase, but having more spare hypervisors and VFs adds flexibility fordisaster recovery and optimization of fragmented networks when operatingclose to the unicast LID limit.

InfiniBand SR-IOV Architecture Models—vSwitch with Dynamic LIDAssionment and Prepopulated LIDs

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary vSwitch architecture with vSwitch with dynamicLID assignment and prepopulated LIDs, in accordance with an embodiment.As depicted in the figure, a number of switches 501-504 can providecommunication within the network switched environment 800 (e.g., an IBsubnet) between members of a fabric, such as an InfiniBand fabric. Thefabric can include a number of hardware devices, such as host channeladapters 510, 520, 530. Each of the host channel adapters 510, 520, 530,can in turn interact with a hypervisor 511, 521, and 531, respectively.Each hypervisor can, in turn, in conjunction with the host channeladapter it interacts with, setup and assign a number of virtualfunctions 514, 515, 516, 524, 525, 526, 534, 535, 536, to a number ofvirtual machines. For example, virtual machine 1 550 can be assigned bythe hypervisor 511 to virtual function 1 514. Hypervisor 511 canadditionally assign virtual machine 2 551 to virtual function 2 515.Hypervisor 521 can assign virtual machine 3 552 to virtual function 3526. Hypervisor 531 can, in turn, assign virtual machine 4 553 tovirtual function 2 535. The hypervisors can access the host channeladapters through a fully featured physical function 513, 523, 533, oneach of the host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the switches 501-504 cancomprise a number of ports (not shown), which are used in setting alinear forwarding table in order to direct traffic within the networkswitched environment 800.

In accordance with an embodiment, the virtual switches 512, 522, and532, can be handled by their respective hypervisors 511, 521, 531. Insuch a vSwitch architecture each virtual function is a complete virtualHost Channel Adapter (vHCA), meaning that the VM assigned to a VF isassigned a complete set of IB addresses (e.g., GID, GUID, LID) and adedicated QP space in the hardware. For the rest of the network and theSM (not shown), the HCAs 510, 520, and 530 look like a switch, via thevirtual switches, with additional nodes connected to them.

In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides asystem and method for providing a hybrid vSwitch architecture withdynamic LID assignment and prepopulated LIDs. Referring to FIG. 9,hypervisor 511 can be arranged with vSwitch with prepopulated LIDsarchitecture, while hypervisor 521 can be arranged with vSwitch withprepopulated LIDs and dynamic LID assignment. Hypervisor 531 can bearranged with vSwitch with dynamic LID assignment. Thus, the physicalfunction 513 and virtual functions 514-516 have their LIDs prepopulated(i.e., even those virtual functions not attached to an active virtualmachine are assigned a LID). Physical function 523 and virtual function1 524 can have their LIDs prepopulated, while virtual function 2 and 3,525 and 526, have their LIDs dynamically assigned (i.e., virtualfunction 2 525 is available for dynamic LID assignment, and virtualfunction 3 526 has a LID of 11 dynamically assigned as virtual machine 3552 is attached). Finally, the functions (physical function and virtualfunctions) associated with hypervisor 3 531 can have their LIDsdynamically assigned. This results in virtual functions 1 and 3, 534 and536, are available for dynamic LID assignment, while virtual function 2535 has LID of 9 dynamically assigned as virtual machine 4 553 isattached there.

In accordance with an embodiment, such as that depicted in FIG. 9, whereboth vSwitch with prepopulated LIDs and vSwitch with dynamic LIDassignment are utilized (independently or in combination within anygiven hypervisor), the number of prepopulated LIDs per host channeladapter can be defined by a fabric administrator and can be in the rangeof 0<=prepopulated VFs<=Total VFs (per host channel adapter), and theVFs available for dynamic LID assignment can be found by subtracting thenumber of prepopulated VFs from the total number of VFs (per hostchannel adapter).

In accordance with an embodiment, much like physical host channeladapters can have more than one port (two ports are common forredundancy), virtual HCAs can also be represented with two ports and beconnected via one, two or more virtual switches to the external IBsubnet.

InfiniBand—Inter-Subnet Communication (Fabric Manager)

In accordance with an embodiment, in addition to providing an InfiniBandfabric within a single subnet, embodiments of the current disclosure canalso provide for an InfiniBand fabric that spans two or more subnets.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary multi-subnet InfiniBand fabric, in accordancewith an embodiment. As depicted in the figure, within subnet A 1000, anumber of switches 1001-1004 can provide communication within subnet A1000 (e.g., an IB subnet) between members of a fabric, such as anInfiniBand fabric. The fabric can include a number of hardware devices,such as, for example, channel adapter 1010. Host channel adapter 1010can in turn interact with a hypervisor 1011. The hypervisor can, inturn, in conjunction with the host channel adapter it interacts with,setup a number of virtual functions 1014. The hypervisor canadditionally assign virtual machines to each of the virtual functions,such as virtual machine 1 1015 being assigned to virtual function 11014. The hypervisor can access their associated host channel adaptersthrough a fully featured physical function, such as physical function1013, on each of the host channel adapters. Within subnet B 1040, anumber of switches 1021-1024 can provide communication within subnet B1040 (e.g., an IB subnet) between members of a fabric, such as anInfiniBand fabric. The fabric can include a number of hardware devices,such as, for example, channel adapter 1030. Host channel adapter 1030can in turn interact with a hypervisor 1031. The hypervisor can, inturn, in conjunction with the host channel adapter it interacts with,setup a number of virtual functions 1034. The hypervisor canadditionally assign virtual machines to each of the virtual functions,such as virtual machine 2 1035 being assigned to virtual function 21034. The hypervisor can access their associated host channel adaptersthrough a fully featured physical function, such as physical function1033, on each of the host channel adapters. It is noted that althoughonly one host channel adapter is shown within each subnet (i.e., subnetA and subnet B), it is to be understood that a plurality of host channeladapters, and their corresponding components, can be included withineach subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, each of the host channel adapters canadditionally be associated with a virtual switch, such as virtual switch1012 and virtual switch 1032, and each HCA can be set up with adifferent architecture model, as discussed above. Although both subnetswithin FIG. 10 are shown as using a vSwitch with prepopulated LIDarchitecture model, this is not meant to imply that all such subnetconfigurations can follow a similar architecture model.

In accordance with an embodiment, at least one switch within each subnetcan be associated with a router, such as switch 1002 within subnet A1000 being associated with router 1005, and switch 1021 within subnet B1040 being associated with router 1006.

In accordance with an embodiment, at least one device (e.g., a switch, anode . . . etc.) can be associated with a fabric manager (not shown).The fabric manager can be used, for example, to discover inter-subnetfabric topology, create a fabric profile (e.g., a virtual machine fabricprofile), build virtual machine related database objects that forms thebasis for building a virtual machine fabric profile. In addition, thefabric manager can define legal inter-subnet connectivity in terms ofwhich subnets are allowed to communicate via which router ports usingwhich partition numbers.

In accordance with an embodiment, when traffic at an originating source,such as virtual machine 1 within subnet A, is addressed to a destinationin a different subnet, such as virtual machine 2 within subnet B, thetraffic can be addressed to the router within subnet A, i.e., router1005, which can then pass the traffic to subnet B via its link withrouter 1006.

Virtual Dual Port Router

In accordance with an embodiment, a dual port router abstraction canprovide a simple way for enabling subnet-to-subnet router functionalityto be defined based on a switch hardware implementation that has theability to do GRH (global route header) to LRH (local route header)conversion in addition to performing normal LRH based switching.

In accordance with an embodiment, a virtual dual-port router canlogically be connected outside a corresponding switch port. This virtualdual-port router can provide an InfiniBand specification compliant viewto a standard management entity, such as a Subnet Manager.

In accordance with an embodiment, a dual-ported router model impliesthat different subnets can be connected in a way where each subnet fullycontrols the forwarding of packets as well as address mappings in theingress path to the subnet, and without impacting the routing andlogical connectivity within either of the incorrectly connected subnets.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a situation involving anincorrectly connected fabric, the use of a virtual dual-port routerabstraction can also allow a management entity, such as a Subnet Managerand IB diagnostic software, to behave correctly in the presence ofun-intended physical connectivity to a remote subnet.

FIG. 11 shows an interconnection between two subnets in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.Prior to configuration with a virtual dual port router, a switch 1120 insubnetA 1101 can be connected through a switch port 1121 of switch 1120,via a physical connection 1110, to a switch 1130 in subnet B 1102, via aswitch port 1131 of switch 1130. In such an embodiment, each switchport, 1121 and 1131, can act both as switch ports and router ports.

In accordance with an embodiment, a problem with this configuration isthat a management entity, such as a subnet manager in an InfiniBandsubnet, cannot distinguish between a physical port that is both a switchport and a router port. In such a situation, an SM can treat the switchport as having a router port connected to that switch port. But if theswitch port is connected to another subnet, via, for example, a physicallink, with another subnet manager, then the subnet manager can be ableto send a discovery message out on the physical link. However, such adiscovery message cannot be allowed at the other subnet.

FIG. 12 shows an interconnection between two subnets via a dual-portvirtual router configuration in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, after configuration, a dual-portvirtual router configuration can be provided such that a subnet managersees a proper end node, signifying an end of the subnet that the subnetmanager is responsible for.

In accordance with an embodiment, at a switch 1220 in subnetA 1201, aswitch port can be connected (i.e., logically connected) to a routerport 1211 in a virtual router 1210 via a virtual link 1223. The virtualrouter 1210 (e.g., a dual-port virtual router), which while shown asbeing external to the switch 1220 can, in embodiments, be logicallycontained within the switch 1220, can also comprise a second routerport, router port II 1212. In accordance with an embodiment, a physicallink 1203, which can have two ends, can connect the subnetA 1201 viafirst end of the physical link with subnet B 1202 via a second end ofthe physical link, via router port II 1212 and router port II 1232,contained in virtual router 1230 in subnet B 1202. Virtual router 1230can additionally comprise router port 1231, which can be connected(i.e., logically connected) to switch port 1241 on switch 1240 via avirtual link 1233.

In accordance with an embodiment, a subnet manager (not shown) on subnetA can detect router port 1211, on virtual router 1210 as an end point ofthe subnet that the subnet manager controls. The dual-port virtualrouter abstraction can allow the subnet manager on subnet A to deal withsubnet A in a usual manner (e.g., as defined per the InfiniBandspecification). At the subnet management agent level, the dual-portvirtual router abstraction can be provided such that the SM sees thenormal switch port, and then at the SMA level, the abstraction thatthere is another port connected to the switch port, and this port is arouter port on a dual-port virtual router. In the local SM, aconventional fabric topology can continue to be used (the SM sees theport as a standard switch port in the topology), and thus the SM seesthe router port as an end port. Physical connection can be made betweentwo switch ports that are also configured as router ports in twodifferent subnets.

In accordance with an embodiment, the dual-port virtual router can alsoresolve the issue that a physical link could be mistakenly connected tosome other switch port in the same subnet, or to a switch port that wasnot intended to provide a connection to another subnet. Therefore, themethods and systems described herein also provide a representation ofwhat is on the outside of a subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, within a subnet, such as subnet A, alocal SM determines a switch port, and then determines a router portconnected to that switch port (e.g., router port 1211 connected, via avirtual link 1223, to switch port 1221). Because the SM sees the routerport 1211 as the end of the subnet that the SM manages, the SM cannotsend discovery and/or management messages beyond this point (e.g., torouter port II 1212).

In accordance with an embodiment, the dual-port virtual router describedabove provides a benefit that the dual-port virtual router abstractionis entirely managed by a management entity (e.g., SM or SMA) within thesubnet that the dual-port virtual router belongs to. By allowingmanagement solely on the local side, a system does not have to providean external, independent management entity. That is, each side of asubnet to subnet connection can be responsible for configuring its owndual-port virtual router.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a situation where a packet, such asan SMP, is addressed to a remote destination (i.e., outside of the localsubnet) arrives local target port that is not configured via thedual-port virtual router described above, then the local port can returna message specifying that it is not a router port.

Many features of the present invention can be performed in, using, orwith the assistance of hardware, software, firmware, or combinationsthereof. Consequently, features of the present invention may beimplemented using a processing system (e.g., including one or moreprocessors).

FIG. 13 shows a method for supporting dual-port virtual router in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment. Atstep 1310, the method can provide at one or more computers, includingone or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnet comprisinga plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprising at least aleaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switches comprise aplurality of switch ports, a plurality of host channel adapters, eachhost channel adapter comprising at least one host channel adapter port,a plurality of end nodes, wherein each of the end nodes are associatedwith at least one host channel adapter of the plurality of host channeladapters, and a subnet manager, the subnet manager running on one of theplurality of switches and the plurality of host channel adapters.

At step 1320, the method can configure a switch port of the plurality ofswitch ports on a switch of the plurality of switches as a router port.

At step 1330, the method can logically connect the switch portconfigured as the router port to a virtual router, the virtual routercomprising at least two virtual router ports.

Multicast Communication

Multicast is the ability to deliver a single packet to multipledestinations. Accordingly, multicast can simplify, and improve theefficiency of, communication between end-nodes of a network fabric.Multicast is implemented and managed through the use of multicastgroups. Each HCA, switch, or router that supports multicast mayparticipate in (i.e., be a member of) zero, one, or many multicastgroups. Multicast groups can be managed by a management entity, such asthe subnet manager.

A multicast group is a collection of end-nodes, each of which receive amulticast packet sent to a single multicast address. Each multicastgroup is associated with a subnet-unique multicast LID (referred toherein as an MLID) and a globally unique multicast GID (referred toherein as an MGID). A multicast group is defined by its MGID, which isassociated with the multicast group at the time of the group's creation.A multicast group's MGID can be assigned by the subnet manager, or itcan be provided to the SM at the time of the group's creation. The MLIDis assigned, or allocated, by the SM at the time the multicast group iscreated. Multiple MGIDs can be associated with a single MLID (that is,multiple multicast groups can share the same MLID). However, a givenMGID cannot be associated with more than one MLID on the same subnet.The MLID, MGID, and other details about the multicast group, such as theLIDs and GIDs of ports that are a member of the multicast group, can bestored in a data store accessible by/for subnet administration (SA).

In accordance with an embodiment, information about multicast groupsdefined in the local subnet can be distributed to the switches in thesubnet. Each switch is configured with routing information used toforward a copy of a received multicast packet to one or more ports suchthat copies of the received multicast packet are forwarded to each HCAport having an LID included in the multicast group (i.e., associatedwith the MGID of the multicast group) that corresponds to the MLID/MGIDof the received multicast packet. In some cases, a multicast packet willbe replicated and forwarded to a port that will send the copy ondirectly to an HCA port, while in other cases, the copy will need to beforwarded to another switch before it reaches an HCA port.

The SM can generate a single spanning tree that includes all ports inthe multicast group to which the multicast packet should be delivered. Amulticast forwarding table (MFT) for each switch in the subnet that willparticipate in multicast forwarding can then be derived from thespanning tree. Using a single spanning tree to derive the switch MFTsassures that no duplicate copies of a multicast packet are forwarded toa switch that has already processed a copy of that multicast packet.

A multicast packet is a packet that contains an MLID in the DLID fieldof its packet header. When a switch receives a multicast packet, theswitch examines the packet header and extracts the DLID to determine ifit corresponds to a multicast group. Upon a determination that the DLIDcorresponds to a multicast group (i.e., the DLID field contains anMLID), the switch replicates the packet and sends it out to each of theports (except for the arrival port) designated in the MFT that isassociated with the multicast group with which the MLID of the multicastpacket is associated with.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary subnet 1400 that supports multicastcommunication, in accordance with an embodiment. Subnet A includes nodes1401-1408. Nodes 1401-1408 include HCAs 1409-1416, respectively. HCAs1409-1416 each include a port—ports 1417-1424, respectively. The ports1417-1424 are connected to switches 1450-1453 via links 1425-1432. Forexample, Port 1417 is connected to switch 1450 via link 1425; port 1418is connected to switch 1450 via link 1426; port 1419 is connected toswitch 1451 via link 1427; etc.

Subnet 1400 includes SM/SA 1460. While depicted as a separate entity inFIG. 14 for simplicity, and in accordance with differing embodiments, itis to be understood that SM/SA 1460 could be deployed as a component ofany of switches 1450-1453, any of nodes 1401-1408, or as a component ofanother IB device not shown. Multicast group (MCG) 1465 is defined bySM/SA 1460. MCG 1465 is depicted in block-diagram form with a dash-dotline. Further ports 1417-1419 and ports 1421-1423 are also depicted witha dash-dot line to indicate that they are members of MCG 1465.Conversely, ports 1420 and 1424 are depicted in block-diagram form witha solid line to indicate that they are not members of MCG 1465.

Switch 1450 is interconnected via link 1440 to switch 1453, and isinterconnected via link 1442 to switch 1452. Likewise, switch 1451 isinterconnected via link 1441 to switch 1452, and is interconnected vialink 1443 to switch 1453.

In accordance with an embodiment, should port 1421 send a multicastpacket, including the MGID that defines MCG 1465, onto the network, eachof ports 1417-1419 and ports 1422 and 1423 will receive a copy of themulticast packet sent by port 1421 by virtue of being a member of MCG1465.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary SA data store used by the SM/SA to managemulticast groups, in accordance with an embodiment. Data store 1500 isdepicted as tables in a relational database diagram, because suchdiagrams show the relationships between the related components. However,FIG. 15 is meant to be illustrative of the relationships betweenmulticast group components and the associative mapping between suchcomponents, and not meant to be limiting. Any suitable data structurethat allows appropriate associative mapping between the relevantcomponents can provide an embodiment. Indeed, the IB Specificationleaves the particular implementation of SA and any SA data storesundefined.

As shown in FIG. 15, SA data store 1500 can include MCG table 1540 andLID table 1544. MCG table 1540 can include information about MCGsdefined in the local subnet, including MGIDs and corresponding MLIDs ofeach defined MCG in the local subnet. LID table 1544 can includeinformation about LIDs in the subnet, such as the corresponding GUID ofthe port that each LID is assigned to. Relationships can be configuredsuch that a query can return data showing every LID (assigned to anend-port) that is associated with a given MGID (i.e., every port that isa member of the MCG defined by the given MGID).

For example, and in accordance with an embodiment, a mapping table canbe utilized to map LIDs in the local subnet to MGIDs of multicast groupswith which the LIDs are associated. With continued reference to FIG. 15,MCG and LID data can be mapped in, e.g., mapping table MCG_LID 1542,where an LID assigned to an end-port in the local subnet can be mappedto one or multiple MGIDs. In accordance with an embodiment, tables 1540and 1542 can be related via relationship 1550, and tables 1542 and 1544can be related via relationship 1552. With such relationships in place,the SM can determine, via a query of the data store, which LIDs areassociated with which MGIDs (i.e., which ports are members of whichmulticast groups).

As noted, above, in order to efficiently forward a single copy of eachmulticast packet to all multicast group members, the SM can determine asingle spanning tree route through the subnet topology. In accordancewith an embodiment, FIG. 16 shows an exemplary route that can bedetermined via a spanning tree algorithm in subnet 1600. As previouslynoted, Multicast group (MCG) 1665 is defined by SM/SA 1660. MCG 1665 isdepicted in block-diagram form with a dash-dot line. Further ports1617-1619 and ports 1621-1623 are also depicted with a dash-dot line toindicate that they are members of MCG 1665. In FIG. 16, links includedin a spanning tree to service delivery of multicast traffic are alsodepicted in dash-dot line, while links excluded from the spanning treeare depicted in solid line format.

In accordance with an embodiment, SM 1660 can determine which end-portsare members of MCG 1665. Using the determined end-ports, the SM 1660 candetermine a spanning tree that ensures that only a single copy of amulticast packet injected into the subnet will be delivered to eachend-port that is a member of MCG 1665. For instance, links 1642, 1640and 1643 can be included in the spanning tree, while link 1641 need notbe included. Including links 1642, 1640 and 1643 ensures that,regardless of which end-port injects a multicast packet into the subnet,only one copy of the multicast packet will be delivered to each end-portthat is member of MCG 1665.

If, for example, port 1621 injects a multicast packet into the subnet,it will be received by switch 1652. Switch 1652 can then forward a copyof the multicast packet to each of the links designated in the spanningtree (except for the link which the multicast packet was received on).Accordingly, switch 1652 can forward a copy of the received multicastpacket to links 1642, and 1630 (and exclude link 1629, since themulticast packet was received on this link). In this scenario, port 1622will receive its (only) copy of the multicast packet via link 1630, andswitch 1650 will receive a copy via link 1642. From here, switch 1650can also forward a copy of the multicast packet received from link 1642to links 1625, 1626 and 1640 (and exclude link 1642). Accordingly, ports1617 and 1618 will receive their (only) respective copies of themulticast packet via links 1625 and 1626, respectively, and switch 1653will receive a copy via link 1640. This pattern can continue until allend-ports have received one, and only one, copy of the multicast packet,via the spanning tree route determined by the SM.

In accordance with an embodiment, once the SM has determined a singlespanning tree route for multicast traffic, the SM can determinemulticast forwarding table (MFTs) for each switch that is a part of thespanning tree route. FIG. 17 shows a detailed view of switches1750-1753, including the switch link ports that links 1725-1732 andlinks 1740-43 are connected to. As shown in FIG. 17, links 1725-1732 areconnected, respectively, to switch ports 1733-1740. Likewise, links1740-1743 are connected, respectively, to ports 1760-1763 on one endand, respectively, to switch ports 1764-1767 on the other end.Consistent with previous figures, switch ports that are connected tolinks that are included in the spanning tree route of the SM 1765 (notshown) are depicted in dash-dot line, while ports connected to linksthat are excluded from the spanning tree are depicted in solid format.

In determining an MFT for a switch, the SM can determine each port of agiven switch that is connected to a link included in the spanning treeroute for delivery of multicast traffic. As an example, referring toFIG. 17, the MFT for switch 1750 can include links 1733, 1734, 1760 and1762, since a copy of a received multicast packet must be forwarded fromeach of these ports (except the port that received the link) in order toassure that each end-port that is a member of MCG 1765 receives a copyof the multicast packet. Regarding switch 1751, ports 1735 and 1763would be included in an MFT entry for switch 1751, while ports 1736 and1761 would be excluded from the MFT entry. The MFT is indexed by MLID,and a specific MFT entry contains the port vector that corresponds tothe spanning tree that the MLID is associated with.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastpacket delivery to members of a multicast group, in accordance with anembodiment. At step 1810, a subnet manager can determine each end-portthat is a member of a multicast group. At step 1820, the subnet managercan determine a single spanning tree that will deliver a copy of amulticast packet to each end-port that is a member of the multicastgroup. At step 1830 the subnet manager can determine a multicastforwarding table for each switch in the local subnet that will forwardmulticast traffic, as determined by the spanning tree. At step 1840, theSM can update each switch that will forward multicast traffic with theforwarding table determined for each respective switch.

Homogenous Fabric Attributes to reduce the need for SA Access

The InfiniBand (IB) specification defined Subnet Manager (SM) and SubnetAdministrator (SA) provide a centralized way of performing IB subnetdiscovery and initialization as well as lookup and registrationservices.

The protocols for communication between IB clients and the SA aredesigned to allow both the SA and the IB client to represent a minimalfeature IB end-port implementation. Hence, per the specification, only256 byte UD (unreliable datagram) packets are used to implement theprotocols.

In accordance with an embodiment, a Subnet Manager (SM) can beresponsible for establishing/defining paths through a respective subnet.It does so via subnet management packets (SMPs) that can, for example,set switch forwarding tables (linear forwarding tables), LIDs . . . etc.A Subnet Administrator (SA) can be responsible for responding to pathresolution requests sing GMPs (general management packets). For example,upon request for a path record, a SA can response can comprise a localroute header (DLID, SLID, SL), a global header (DGID, SGID), and otherproperties, such as MTU, Rate, Latency, P_Key . . . etc.

In order to ensure that communication parameters are consistent with therelevant IB fabric and peer node capabilities and associated adminpolicies, an IB client is expected to obtain path records from the SA inorder to obtain both relevant L2 address information (LID) as well ascommunication parameters, such as a max MTU (maximum transmission unit),max Rate and Service Level (SL).

While path records and other information obtained by the clients fromthe SA can be expected to remain unchanged as long as the relevant peernode is reachable and the same Master SM/SA instance is in charge of thesubnet, there is in general a need to refresh any cached informationwhenever a new Master SM/SA instance becomes active.

In the case of multicast group membership, there is an inherent need to(re-)join any multicast membership whenever a new Master SM/SA is activesince a new SM may assign new MGID to MLID mappings.

In certain embodiments, it can be possible for an IB client to cachepath records and multicast group membership information upon any changesto a master SM/SA is possible for an IB client to optimistically cachepath records and multicast group information also across changes ofMaster SM/SA. However, in the case of multicast membership, sorting outexception cases where cached information is no longer valid may not bestraight forward due to various race conditions.

In the case of SRIOV based VM deployments, the problem of SA requesttraffic is magnified as long as each such VM performs similar types ofSA requests as physical servers (e.g., path record inquires). That is,in a virtualized environment, where each client can comprise a singlevirtual machine acting as an end node in the system (i.e., acting aphysical server in a non-SRIOV environment), this can drasticallyincrease traffic to the SA via SA requests upon an event that wouldtraditionally require such SA requests.

With less capable SM/SA implementations, such as those based onlow-performance processor modules connected to a switch managementinterface, even moderate increases in SA request loads can cause severeoverhead and reduced forward progress for both the SM as well as thesystem as a whole.

For highly available (HA) systems where fast fail-over and recovery iscritical, any delay represents a problem. For example, when sub-secondfail-over time is the goal, it is important that operational computenodes can continue normal operation and communication with otheroperational nodes without any interruption at all as long as there is noloss of physical connectivity between the nodes. Hence, it is desirablethat all nodes can continue to use existing address and path informationfor both unicast and multicast traffic without the need to interact withthe SA, and that the only interruption of connectivity occurs if the SMneeds to perform re-routing or re-initialization due to failed linkswithin the fabric.

Also, even with SM/SA implementations based on high end servers withfull blown HCAs, the use of 256 byte MADs (management datagrams) for SAcommunication can severely limit performance and scalability. In suchcases, even with optimal caching and extremely high performance for SArequest processing, the need to re-register multicast membership with anew Master SM can represent an unnecessary interruption of connectivitybetween operational nodes connected by operational switches and links.

There are two main goals related to optimizing the interaction betweenthe IB clients and the SM/SA infrastructure. For small to medium sizedsystems with switch embedded (low-end) SM/SA implementations, the goalis that as much as possible, the SM should be able to discover andinitialize the subnet as fast as possible without any need to service SArequests or otherwise communicate with the IB clients, such as physicalservers or virtual machines (i.e. beyond discovery and initializeoperations at SMA level). For larger systems with high-end SM/SAimplementations, the goal is that the SM/SA should be able to distributerelevant information to the IB clients in a way that utilizes an optimalIB communication mechanisms, and that also provides the ability to havehierarchical implementations that provides scalability and preventslarge scale multicast storms even in very large cluster domains.

In accordance with an embodiment, by default, each IB client can requestthe SA to get a path record describing how to communicate with remoteend-ports in terms of allowed rates, MTUs, SLs, partitions, LIDs etc.

In accordance with an embodiment, in some IB fabric configurations,there are no variations in parameters that are independent of theidentity of the remote ports. Alternatively, there can be a well-definedcommon maximum values that can be used by all nodes, or the fabric canbe constructed in a way that allows pairs of nodes to exchange and agreeon relevant max values without considering any intermediate fabricconnectivity and thereby also avoid the need to request the SA to obtainsuch parameters.

In accordance with an embodiment, it is possible to specify that clientnodes should behave in the above described way. However, this may beerror prone, and implies that fabric changes that violate the relevantpre-condition may not be dynamically detected.

In accordance with an embodiment, an SMA level per port attribute (e.g.a “Homogeneous Fabric” binary flag attribute) can be introduced. Such anattribute can allow a Subnet Manager to dynamically maintain informationat the client port level that instructs an associated client aboutwhether a simplified scheme can be used or not, as well as under whatconstraints—if any—relative to the local port parameters. Using,conventional port level events, it is also possible to asynchronouslynotify the IB client about dynamic changes.

In accordance with an embodiment, when an Engineered System (ES) privatefabric is based on homogeneous HCA and switch capabilities and a regularfat-tree topology is in use, then there are in general no pathattributes that have to be defined by the SM/SA in order to ensure thatproper path parameters are used in the normal case. For example, a setof supported data rates, MTUs and SLs can be defined by the capabilitiesof the local HCA port, and the relevant partitions for communicationwould be defined by the partition setup for the local HCA.

In accordance with an embodiment, this aspect of the ES private fabriccan be a configuration parameter for the host stacks used on therelevant ES host nodes. However, a more flexible scheme that could beused independently of any special system configuration is the following.

In accordance with an embodiment, when an SM determines that all hostnodes in the fabric and the switches and switch ports that connect thehost nodes all support the same capabilities, then a special SMA flagattribute (e.g. “homogenous fabric” attribute flag) specifying thiscondition can be set for the various HCA ports in the system. (The HCAports can also include a capability flag indicating support for thisattribute in the first place.)

In accordance with an embodiment, this flag can additionally be includedas an additional attribute for each partition that the port is currentlyset up to be a member of.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to improve the flexibility ofthe scheme, such an attribute can be extended to include max values forall path attributes (globally or per partition) so that the SM couldthen handle also non-homogeneous cases in a way that allows host nodesto use values supported by all peers even if the max capabilities may bedifferent for different host nodes. In this way, host nodes would beable to determine all path information that is independent of theidentity and address of remote peers based on only local portinformation and with no need to perform SA queries.

In accordance with an embodiment, an alternative to configurationparameters and/or new SMA attributes would be to introduce a new type ofSA query where an end node would be able to obtain “default max pathparameters” on a per subnet or partition basis using a single or only afew SA requests per node.—Still, with a large number of nodes, thiswould still represent a significant load upon startup.

In accordance with an embodiment, a number of additional SMA/PortInfoAttributes can be included.

In accordance with an embodiment, a Port Capability for supporting“Homogenous Fabric Attributes”, can be supported. A default value forthis attribute is false. It can be set to true by supporting SMA uponlink up. When set to true, a supporting master SM may update relevantSMA properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, a “HomogeneousSubnet” flag can besupported. A default value for this flag can be false. The flag can beset by a supporting master SM if all end ports in the local subnet thatare potentially visible from this local port have same path propertiesand all intermediate links support the same properties. When set totrue, a local IB client can safely derive relevant path properties fromlocal port properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, a “SemiHomogeneousSubnet” flag can besupported. A default value for this flag can be false. The flag can beset by a supporting master SM if intermediate links always support thesame path properties as the minimum between what values the local portsupports and what values any peer port within the local subnet visiblefrom the local port supports. When the value of the flag is set to true,the local port can determine path properties based on negotiationdirectly with relevant peer port

In accordance with an embodiment, a “SubnetGlobalMinimalPathParameters”record of Valid flag (true/false), MTU (legal MTU values), Rate (legalRate values) can be supported. This can be set by supporting master SMto the minimum values that are supported by any end port in the localsubnet that is potentially visible from this local port, as well as byany intermediate links. When set to true, the local IB client may chooseto use these path properties for any communication within the localsubnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, a “HomogeneousFabric” flag can besupported: A default value for this flag can be false. The flag can beset by a supporting master SM if all end ports that are potentiallyvisible from a local port have same path properties and all intermediatelinks support the same properties. When set true, the local IB clientcan safely derive all path properties from local port properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, a “SemiHomogeneousFabric” flag can besupported. A default value for this flag can be false. The flag can beset by supporting master SM if intermediate links always support thesame path properties as the minimum between what values the local portsupports and what values any peer port visible from the local portsupports. When set true, the local IB client can determine pathproperties based on negotiation directly with relevant peer port

In accordance with an embodiment,“FabricGlobalMinimalPathParameters”—record of Valid flag (true/false),MTU (legal MTU values), Rate (legal Rate values) can be supported. Thiscan be set by a supporting master SM to the minimum values that aresupported by any end ports that are potentially visible from this localport as well as by any intermediate links. When set true, a local IBclient may choose to use these path properties for any communication.

FIG. 19 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, FIG. 19 shows a simplified InfiniBandfabric comprising a plurality of nodes, Node A-Node E, 1910-1914, whichare interconnected via host channel adapters 1920-1924 (respectively)through an InfiniBand fabric 1900, which comprises a number of switches1902, as well as a subnet manager/subnet administrator 1901.

In accordance with an embodiment, the subnet manager/subnetadministrator 1901 can determine that the plurality of hosts (e.g.,nodes A-E) and the plurality of switches 1902 support a same set ofcapabilities. Upon determining that the plurality of hosts and theplurality of switches support a same set of capabilities, the subnetmanager configures an SMA flag, such as flag A (shown in the figure as acircle containing flag A), the flag indicating that a condition can beset for each of the host channel adapter ports. The flag A can compriseone or more attributes, such as a homogenous fabric attribute asdescribed above. A default value for flag A can be set to false, whichcan be changed to true by the SA/SM upon such determination that thevarious ports support a same set of capabilities.

In accordance with an embodiment, the SA/SM can determine a set ofcapabilities which are the same among different ports within the IBfabric as well as at the HCA ports. The set of capabilities cancomprise, but is not limited to, a set of supported data rates, MTUs(maximum transmission units), supported link width, supported linkspeed, and supported extended link speed. (Note than in an embodimentcombinations of different link speeds and widths may represent the samedata rate. Hence, from the perspective of path info, only the rate isrelevant. However, the SM must correlate all speed and widthcombinations to determine relevant sets of rates.)

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise a PortCapability for supporting “Homogenous Fabric Attributes”, can besupported. A default value for flag A in such situation is false. It canbe set to true by supporting SMA upon link up. When set to true, asupporting master SM may update relevant SMA properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise a“HomogeneousSubnet” flag. A default value for this flag can be false.The flag can be set by a supporting master SM if all end ports in thelocal subnet that are potentially visible from a local port have samepath properties (e.g., MTU, supported data rates), and all intermediatelinks support the same properties. When set to true, a local IB clientcan safely derive relevant path properties from local port propertieswith fewer requests to the SA than traditional IB fabrics.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise a“SemiHomogeneousSubnet” flag. A default value for this flag can befalse. The flag can be set by a supporting master SM if intermediatelinks between end nodes (a local port and a remote port) support thesame path properties as the minimum between what values the local portsupports and what values any peer port within the local subnet visiblefrom the local port supports. When the value of the flag is set to true,the local port can determine path properties based on negotiationdirectly with relevant remote port.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise“SubnetGlobalMinimalPathParameters” record of Valid flag (true/false),MTU (legal MTU values), Rate (legal Rate values) can be supported. Thiscan be set by supporting master SM to the minimum values that aresupported by any end port in the local subnet that is potentiallyvisible from this local port, as well as by any intermediate links. Whenset to true, the local IB client may choose to use these path propertiesfor any communication within the local subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise a“HomogeneousFabric” flag: A default value for this flag can be false.The flag can be set by a supporting master SM if all end ports(including those outside of the local port's subnet) that arepotentially visible from a local port have same path properties and allintermediate links support the same properties. When set true, the localIB client can safely derive all path properties from local portproperties.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise a“SemiHomogeneousFabric” flag. A default value for this flag can befalse. The flag can be set by a supporting master SM if intermediatelinks always support the same path properties as the minimum betweenwhat values the local port supports and what values any peer portvisible from the local port supports. When set true, the local IB clientcan determine path properties based on negotiation directly withrelevant peer port.

In accordance with an embodiment, flag A can reflect/comprise“FabricGlobalMinimalPathParameters” flag. This flag can comprise arecord of Valid flag (true/false), MTU (legal MTU values), Rate (legalRate values) can be supported. This can be set by a supporting master SMto the minimum values that are supported by any end ports that arepotentially visible from this local port as well as by any intermediatelinks. When set true, a local IB client may choose to use these pathproperties for any communication.

FIG. 20 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates an exemplary subnet comprisinga number of nodes, including node 1 2010, node 2 2020, and node 3 2030,where each node is connected to a switched fabric via a host channeladapter, namely HCA 1 2011, HCA 2 2021, and HCA 3 2031. The nodes, viathe respective HCA, are interconnected via a number of switches, such asswitch 1 2040, and switch 2 2041.

In accordance with an embodiment, each member of the subnet (the HCAsand the switches) can all comprise the same “type”—meaning that eachport on each of these subnet members supports that same capabilities,for example, supported data rates, MTUs (maximum transmission units),supported link width, supported link speed, and supported extended linkspeed.

FIG. 21 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates an exemplary subnet comprisinga number of nodes, including node 1 2110, node 2 2120, and node 3 2130,where each node is connected to a switched fabric via a host channeladapter, namely HCA 1 2111, HCA 2 2121, and HCA 3 2131. The nodes, viathe respective HCA, are interconnected via a number of switches, such asswitch 1 2140, and switch 2 2141.

In accordance with an embodiment, different members of the subnet (theHCAs and the switches) can comprise different “types”—meaning that thosemembers of the subnet of the same type support the same set ofcapabilities, while member of different types do not support the sameset of capabilities.

For example, the host channel adapters of switches of type A in thefigure support a first maximum data rate and a first maximumtransmission unit, and the host channel adapters and switches of type Bsupport the same first maximum data rate, but a different second maximumtransmission unit. In such a situation, a flag, a“SemiHomogeneousSubnet” flag, can be set by the subnet manager ifintermediate links between end nodes (a local port and a remote port)support the same path properties as the minimum between what values thelocal port supports and what values any peer port within the localsubnet visible from the local port supports. When the value of the flagis set to true, the local port can determine path properties based onnegotiation directly with relevant remote port.

FIG. 22 illustrates a system for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce the need for SA access in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates an exemplary subnet comprisinga number of nodes, including node 1 2210, node 2 2220, node 3 2230, node4 2215, node 5 2225, and node 6 2235, where each node is connected to aswitched fabric via a host channel adapter, namely HCA 1 2211, HCA 22221, and HCA 3 2231, HCA 4 2216, HCA 5 2226, and HCA 6 2236. The nodes,via the respective HCA, are interconnected via a number of switches,such as switch 1 2240, switch 2 2241, switch 3 2242, switch 4 2243,switch 5 2244, and switch 6 2245.

In accordance with an embodiment, the switches can be arranged in anumber of levels. Here, the switches are arranged in two levels, withlevel 0 comprising switches 1 through 4, and level 1 comprising switches5-6.

In accordance with an embodiment, different members of the subnet (theHCAs and the switches) can comprise different “types”—meaning that thosemembers of the subnet of the same type support the same set ofcapabilities, while member of different types do not support the sameset of capabilities. For example, Switches and HCAs of “type B” can bemore capable (i.e., capable of supporting greater MTUs, maximum datarates, link width . . . etc) that those of “type A”.

In accordance with an embodiment, then, a subnet manager could proceedalong a number of different paths.

In an embodiment, a subnet manager could decide that all switches andHCAs of “type B” belong to a single subnet, while those belonging to“type A” belong to a different subnet. Then, the SM could flag each portin “subnet B” with a HomogenousSubnet flag, and likewise each port in“subnet A”.

In an embodiment, a subnet manager could set a “SemiHomogeneousSubnet”flag, as the intermediate links between end nodes (a local port and aremote port) support the same path properties as the minimum betweenwhat values the local port supports and what values any peer port withinthe local subnet visible from the local port supports. When the value ofthe flag is set to true, the local port can determine path propertiesbased on negotiation directly with relevant remote port.

In accordance with an embodiment, a subnet manager could set a“SubnetGlobalMinimalPathParameters” record of Valid flag (true/false),MTU (legal MTU values), Rate (legal Rate values) can be supported. Thiscan be set by supporting master SM to the minimum values that aresupported by any end port in the local subnet that is potentiallyvisible from a local port, as well as by any intermediate links. Whenset to true, the local IB client may choose to use these path propertiesfor any communication within the local subnet.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart of a method for supporting homogenous fabricattributes to reduce the need for SA access in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2301, the method can start andperform fabric discovery.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2302, the method can determineif all HCAs in the subnet/fabric have the same max capabilities and ifall switches also support at least those capabilities.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2303, the method can determineif the same max capabilities are supported in both the HCAs and theswitches.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2304, if the same maxcapabilities are supported in both the HCAs and the switches, thenfabric can be initialized and reflect a «homogenous fabric» (orhomogenous subnet attribute if the SM is only looking at a subnet) forall end-nodes (at least all end nodes that support such a newattribute).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2305, if the same maxcapabilities are not supported, the method can determine if all HCAs ofthe same type can communicate with all other HCAs of the same type viaswitches that supports the same max capabilities.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2306, the method can determineif such same max path capabilities are supported between HCAs of sametype.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2307, if such same max pathcapabilities are supported between HCAs of same type, then the fabriccan be initialized and reflect «semi homogenous fabric» for all endnodes (at least all end nodes that support such a new attribute).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2308, if such same max pathcapabilities are not supported between HCAs of same type, the fabric canbe initialized and reflect «global minimal path parameters» for all endnodes (at least all end nodes that support such a new attribute).

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of a method for supporting homogenous fabricattributes to reduce the need for SA access in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

At step 2410, the method can provide, at one or more microprocessors, afirst subnet, the first subnet comprising a plurality of switches, theone or more switches comprising at least a leaf switch, wherein each ofthe plurality of switches comprise at least one switch port of aplurality of switch ports, a plurality of host channel adapters, whereineach of the host channel adapters comprise at least one host channeladapter port of a plurality of host channel adapter ports, and whereinthe plurality of host channel adapters are interconnected via theplurality of switches, and a subnet manager, the subnet manager runningon one of the plurality of switches and the plurality of host channeladapters.

At step 2420, the method can determine, by the subnet manager that a setof the plurality of host channel adapter ports and a set of theplurality of switches support a same set of capabilities.

At step 2430, the method can, upon said determination, configure, by thesubnet manager, an SMA (subnet management agent) flag, the flagindicating that a condition can be set for a set of the plurality ofhost channel adapter ports.

Path Records Derived from ARP Responses and Peer-to-Peer NegotiationBased on Homogenous Fabric Attribute

In accordance with an embodiment, as long as determination of IBspecific identity information is based on broadcast based querymechanisms like ARP (address resolution protocol), a remote portspecific IB address information is well defined whenever any IBmulticast message is received containing both a source GID and a sourceLID.

In accordance with an embodiment, this remote port specific informationcan then be combined with information defined by a Homogenous Fabric”attribute/flag to form a full path record for the remote port.

In accordance with an embodiment, the “Homogeneous Fabric” flagattribute itself or an additional attribute may be used to specify thatall source IB addresses are reversible in the sense that they can beused as destination addresses when establishing communication.

In accordance with an embodiment, in addition, both multicast basedaddress resolution protocols as well as unicast based communicationmanagement protocols can be used to represent port specific pathparameters that can be used to augment information defined by the“Homogeneous Fabric” attribute.

In accordance with an embodiment, in addition to the path informationdiscussed above, additional information defined by SA path records isthe identity of the relevant peer port in terms of GID and the subnetlocal address in terms of LID.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the case of generic RDMA CM(connection manager) based connections, the address resolution is basedon IP addresses within the scope of a partition, and the IP address toGID mapping is defined via broadcast based ARP protocol.

In accordance with an embodiment, within a single subnet, as long aseach HCA port has a single LID assigned, then subnet local destinationLID address of a peer HCA port will be well defined based on the sourceLID address in both an initial ARP request multicast packet as well asin the corresponding ARP response unicast packet.

In accordance with an embodiment, based on the combination of pathrecord parameters defined with values from the Homogeneous Fabric/Subnetflag (or configuration parameter) defined above, as well as the GID andSLID information defined by IPoIB ARP requests and responses, there isno additional need for SA requests to obtain path records or pathrelated information in general.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the case of multi-subnet fabrics,the GID information is still well defined by the IPoIB ARP protocol.However, the SLID information in the encapsulating IB packets will nolonger define the original sender but rather the LID of the IB-IB routerport that the packet was forwarded by in the ingress path to the localsubnet.—This applies for both the original multicast request as well asthe subsequent unicast response.

In accordance with an embodiment, still, as long as the overallinter-subnet routing allows reversible paths across subnet boundaries,then the use of the router SLID as DLID for unicast traffic would stillprovide complete path record information in combination with the infofrom the Homogenous Fabric flag. The Homogenous Fabric flag would thenneed to be synchronized between the SMs in the various connectedsubnets.

In accordance with an embodiment, the IPoIB ARP protocol (or RDMA CMprotocol) can be extended to include local Homogenous Fabric attributesin order to allow peer nodes to negotiate and agree on mutual parametervalues that would exceed the “global” max values. In particular, thiswould allow different “sub-fabrics” of nodes with different speedinterfaces (e.g. combination of a QDR (Quadruple Data Rate) basedsub-fabric with an EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) or an HDR (High Data Rate)based sub-fabric where the connectivity of nodes with the same higherspeed would always be only through switches/routers supporting thishigher speed.

In accordance with an embodiment, various PortInfo attributes can bedefined.

In accordance with an embodiment, one such attribute can be a“AllSubnetLocalChannelAdapterLIDsUsable” flag. This flag can be atrue/false flag, set to false by default. The flag can be set bysupporting master SM if all LIDs associated with any CA (channeladapter) port within the local subnet that are potentially visible froma local port represents a valid DLID. When true, the local IB client canuse any Source LID received from a remote CA port in the local subnet asa Destination LID when communicating with the remote CA port.

In accordance with an embodiment, one such attribute can be a“RouterSourceLIDsReversible” flag. This flag can be a true/false flag,set to false by default. The flag can be set by supporting master SM ifall Source LIDs generated by a router port in the local subnet whenforwarding a packet from an end-port in a remote subnet can be used toreach the relevant end port in the remote subnet. When true, the localIB client can use the Source LID in any packet received from a CA portin a remote subnet as a Destination LID when communicating with theremote CA port.

In accordance with an embodiment, various newly defined communicationmanagement protocol additions can be provided.

In accordance with an embodiment, one such method can be“PortAndNodeAttributeRequestMessage”, a new communication management(CM) method (message type). The message contains the max path parameters(Rate, MTU etc.) that the sending port represents as well as additionalinformation about the sending port (can include platform specific infoas well). This method can be used as a peer-to-peer based replacement ofSA path request before initiating other communication to a remote portfor which a LID is known. As with path queries to the SA, the receivedinfo can be cached and re-used across multiple connections as long asthe remote port is still available

In accordance with an embodiment, one such method can be“PortAndNodeAttributeResponseMessage”, a new CM method (message type).The message contains the max path parameters (Rate, MTU . . . etc.) thatthe responding port represents as well as additional information aboutthe responding port (can include platform specific info as well). Aswith path queries to the SA, the received info can be cached and re-usedacross multiple connections as long as the remote port is stillavailable.

FIG. 25 illustrates a system for providing path records derived fromaddress resolution protocol (ARP) responses and peer-to-peer negotiationon homogenous fabric attributes in a high performance computingenvironment.

In accordance with an embodiment, the figure shows a simplifiedInfiniBand fabric comprising a plurality of nodes, Node A-Node E,2510-2514, which are interconnected via host channel adapters 2520-2524(respectively) through an InfiniBand fabric 2500, which comprises anumber of switches 2502, as well as a subnet manager 2501.

In accordance with an embodiment, the subnet manager 2501 can beconfigured to determine that the plurality of hosts (e.g., nodes A-E)and the plurality of switches 2502 support a same set of capabilities.Upon determining that the plurality of hosts and the plurality ofswitches support a same set of capabilities, the subnet managerconfigures an SMA flag, such as flag A (shown in the figure as a circlecontaining flag A), the flag indicating that a condition can be set foreach of the host channel adapter ports. The flag A can comprise one ormore attributes, such as a homogenous fabric attribute as describedabove.

In an embodiment, a packet 2530 can be received from a remote port, thepacket comprising a source LID and a source GID. Combining the remoteport address information with the homogenous fabric attribute, acomplete path record 2535 can be determined.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the case of multi-subnet fabrics(i.e., when the packet arrives from a remote subnet), the GIDinformation is still well defined by the IPoIB ARP protocol. However,the SLID information in the encapsulating IB packets is no longerdefined by original sender but rather the LID of the IB-IB router portthat the packet was forwarded by in the ingress path to the localsubnet. This applies for both the original multicast request as well asthe subsequent unicast response.

In accordance with an embodiment, still, as long as the overallinter-subnet routing allows reversible paths across subnet boundaries,then the use of the router SLID as DLID for unicast traffic would stillprovide complete path record information in combination with the infofrom the Homogenous Fabric flag. The Homogenous Fabric flag would thenneed to be synchronized between the SMs in the various connectedsubnets.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a method for deriving path records from ARPresponses and peer-to-peer negotiation based on a homogenous fabricattribute.

More particularly, the figure shows a flow chart of a method fordetermining GID and LIDs from incoming ARP requests and responses, froma remote node, including correlation with fabric minimum/maximum values,in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2601 the method can start.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2602, the method can get asource GID (global identifier) and source LID (SLID or source localidentifier) from an incoming ARP request or response.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2603, the method can determineif the source GID is from a local subnet.

If the source GID is from a local subnet, the method can determine, atstep 2604, if local extended port information indicates that the flag,set by a local master SM, is indicative that all LIDs associated withany CA (channel adapter) port within the local subnet that arepotentially visible from a local port represents a valid DLID (the“AllSubnetLocalChannelAdapterLIDsUsable” flag described above).

If such determination is made, in accordance with an embodiment, then,at step 2606 the method can record such determination can record thatthe received Source LID can be used as a destination LID for the remotenode.

If such determination is not made, then, in accordance with anembodiment, at step U05, the method can record that SA access or otheradditional information is required to determine destination LID for theremote node.

If it is determined that the source GID is not from a local subnet,then, in accordance with an embodiment, at step 2607, then the methodcan determine if the Extended PortInfo indicates thatRouterSourceLIDsReversible flag is true (or another flag that representsthat all Source LIDs generated by a router port in the local subnet whenforwarding a packet from an end-port in a remote subnet can be used toreach the relevant end port in the remote subnet).

If such determination is made, then, in accordance with an embodiment,at step 2608, the method can record that the received source LID can beused as a destination LID for the remote node.

If such determination is not made, then, in accordance with anembodiment, at step 2609, the method can record that SA access or otheradditional information is required to determine destination LID forremote node.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of a method for deriving path records from ARPresponses and peer-to-peer negotiation based on a homogenous fabricattribute.

More particularly, the figure shows a flow chart of a method forconstructing path information based on new CM type message exchange,including correlation with fabric minimum/maximum values, in accordancewith an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2701, the method can start.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2702, the method can determineif Local Extended PortInfo indicates that the Homogenous Fabric flag isset to true.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2703, if the Homogenous Fabricflag is set to true, then the method can construct path informationattributes based upon the local PortInfo information.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2704, if the Homogenous Fabricflag is not set to true, the method can determine if the Local ExtendedPortInfo indicates that the SemiHomogenous Fabric flag is set to true.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2705, if the SemiHomogenousFabric flag is set to true, then the method receive either“PortandNodeAttributeReqeustMessage” or“PortandNodeAttributeResponseMessage”.

In accordance with an embodiment, the PortandNodeAttributeRequestMessagecan comprise the max path parameters (Rate, MTU etc.) that the sendingport represents as well as additional information about the sending port(can include platform specific info as well). This method can be used asa peer-to-peer based replacement of SA path request before initiatingother communication to a remote port for which a LID is known. As withpath queries to the SA, the received info can be cached and re-usedacross multiple connections as long as the remote port is stillavailable

In accordance with an embodiment, the“PortAndNodeAttributeResponseMessage” is a CM method (message type). Themessage contains the max path parameters (Rate, MTU . . . etc.) that theresponding port represents as well as additional information about theresponding port (can include platform specific info as well). As withpath queries to the SA, the received info can be cached and re-usedacross multiple connections as long as the remote port is stillavailable.

In accordance with an embodiment, after receipt of either or both of themessages at step 2705, the method, at step 2706, can construct path infobased on minimum between local PortInfo information and informationreceived in message from remote node.

In accordance with an embodiment, if the Local Extended PortInfo doesnot indicate that the SemiHomogenous Fabric flag is true, then themethod can, at step 2707, use an SA query or other means (e.g.,“FabricGlobalMinimalPathParameters” from local PortInfo) to get infoattributes for a remote node.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart of a method for deriving path records, inaccordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2810, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapters ports, and wherein the plurality of hostchannel adapters are interconnected via the one or more switches, aplurality of hosts, and a subnet manager, the subnet manager running onone of the plurality of switches and the plurality of host channeladapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2820, the method candetermine, by the subnet manager, that a set of the plurality of hostchannel adapter ports and a set of the plurality of switch ports supporta same set of capabilities.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2830, upon the subnet managerdetermining that a set of the plurality of host channel adapter portsand a set of the plurality of switch ports support the same set ofcapabilities, the subnet manager can configure an SMA flag, the flagindicating that a condition can be set for each of the plurality of hostchannel adapter ports and the plurality of switch ports.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2840, a packet can bereceived, from a remote port, comprising a source LID and a source GIDat a port on a switch in the first subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 2850, the source LID and thesource GID can be combined with the SMA flag to determine a completepath record.

Multicast Group Creations and Joins

Multicast groups can be created by a fabric administrator based onadministrative policy/action. A fabric administrator may use anadministrative interface to prompt the creation of a multicast group.Such interfaces can accept the parameters required to define a multicastgroup. Often times, multicast groups are created for use by upper-levelprotocols (ULPs). Some of these ULPs use multicast groups created in thecontext of an IB partition, where the IB partition represents linkboundaries for the ULP. Some administrative interfaces allow a multicastgroup to be created in conjunction with an IB partition, thereby easingadministrative overhead when a multicast group is to be associated witha particular IB partition. For example, when an IB partition is created,a flag can be set that facilitates the automatic creation of a multicastgroup in the context of the created IB partition (e.g., an InternetProtocol over InfiniBand (IPoIB) flag).

In accordance with an embodiment, Listing #1 shows an administrativeinterface command for creating a IPoIB multicast group in the context of(and within the same command for creating) a corresponding IB partition.As shown in Listing #1, the “ipoib” flag will cause a multicast group tobe created in the context of the “partition_name” partition that isbeing created.

Listing #1

-   -   # smpartition create -n partition_name -pkey p_key[-flag [ipoib,        mtu mtu, rate rate, sl sl, scope scope]][-m defmember]

As noted above, one example of a ULP that employs multicast groups thatare associated with IB partitions is Internet Protocol over InfiniBand(IPoIB). IPoIB uses a broadcast group, which is an IB multicast groupthat has been created in the context of a particular IB partition. Thebroadcast group is used to simulate broadcast traffic in a legacyInternet Protocol (IP) subnet, since the IB architecture does notsupport broadcast traffic.

IPoIB simulates an IP subnet using an IB partition (i.e., the IBpartition defines and simulates link boundaries for broadcast trafficfrom the IPoIB protocol). Each member end-port of the IB partitionassociated with the broadcast group is a simulated member of the IPsubnet. Traffic is “broadcast” to each member of the simulated IP subnet(i.e., the IB partition members) via the broadcast (multicast) group.Each of the end-ports that is a member of the partition is also a memberof the broadcast group defined in the context of that partition. Thisallows legacy applications using the IP protocol to receive broadcastpackets (e.g., address resolution protocol (ARP) packets) via the IBsubnet.

When a multicast group is defined in the context of an IB partition, theMGID of the multicast group can be algorithmically created according toa known convention. The P_Key of the partition in whose context themulticast group is created can be embedded into the MGID of themulticast group. Additional conventions can also be followed when theMGID is created. For example, in the case of a broadcast IPoIB multicastgroup, a special signature is also embedded into the MGID. By followingsuch conventions, IB clients need only to know the P_Key of thepartition in whose context the multicast group is defined in order toderive the MGID that defines the multicast group.

A multicast group may also be created dynamically when an end-port sendsa MAD to the SM requesting that a new multicast group be created. TheMAD can specify certain parameters for use in defining/creating the newmulticast group. For instance, the MAD can specify a valid MGID.Alternatively, the MAD can leave an MGID unspecified, in which case theSM can generate a valid MGID and assign the generated MGID to the newlycreated multicast group. Other parameters that can be specified in arequest to create a new multicast group include P_Key, Q_Key, ServiceLevel (SL), FlowLabel, TClass, JoinState and PortGID.

A MAD requesting that a new multicast group be created can specify theSubnAdmSet( ) method, which is provided by the Subnet Administrationclass defined in the IB Specification. The MAD can further specify theMCMemberRecord attribute, wherein the parameters noted above (i.e.,MGID, P_Key, Q_KEY, etc.) can be specified.

Generally, a request to create a new multicast group is treated as animplicit request by the requesting end-port (i.e., the end-port thatsends the MAD requesting a new multicast group be created) to join thenewly created multicast group, and the SM includes the requesting portin the newly created multicast group. That is, the SM uses the LID ofthe requesting port as a way to make an association between therequesting port and the MGID of the newly created multicast group (i.e.,the LID of the port has no significance for the multicast handling).

Conventionally, in order to join an existing multicast group, anend-port sends a join request to the SM. The join request specifies theMGID of the existing multicast group along with other parameters thatallow the SM to determine if the configuration of the existing multicastgroup is compatible with the configuration of the port that isrequesting to join the existing multicast group. If the SM determinesthat the configuration of the requesting port is compatible with that ofthe existing multicast group, then the SM adds the LID of the requestingport to the existing multicast group. That is, the SM associates the LIDof the requesting port with the MGID of the existing multicast group(e.g., in an SA data store such as that depicted in FIG. 15).Additionally, the SM responds to the requesting end-port with the MLIDthat has been allocated to the MCG for use by the end-port when sendingout multicast packets.

After an end-port joins an existing MCG, the SM regenerates theassociated spanning tree, including the requesting port that has beenassociated with the multicast group. Further, updated MFTs (updated bythe newly generated spanning tree) can be sent to any switch whoseexisting MFT was made obsolete by the addition of the requesting port tothe multicast group. Accordingly, when a multicast packet is sent outhaving the MLID of the existing multicast group in the DLID field of thepacket, the requesting port is recognized as a member of the relevantmulticast group, and a copy of the multicast packet is delivered to therequesting port.

FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart for creation and joining of a multicastgroup (MCG), in accordance with an embodiment. At step 2910, an SM canreceive a request to create a new MCG. At step 2930, the SM can receivea request to join the new MCG from a first end-port. At step 2940, theSM can associate the LID of the first end-port with the MGID of the newMCG. At step 2950, the SM can generate a spanning tree and M29 Ts basedon the membership of the first end-port in the new MCG. At step 2960,the SM can receive another request to join the new MCG from a secondend-port. At step 2970, the SM can associate the LID of the secondend-port with the MGID of the new MCG. At step 2980, the SM can generatea spanning tree and MFTs based on the membership of the second end-portin the new MCG.

As can be seen from FIG. 29, every time an end-port joins an MCG the SMreceives and processes a MAD, updates associations, determines aspanning tree, and determines new MFTs. On large subnets where manyend-ports will be sending join requests, this can create tremendousoverhead for the SM/SA, especially at subnet initialization.

As can be seen from the above-described processes for multicast groupcreation and joins, every end-port that is to be included in a multicastgroup must interact with the SM/SA in order to join the multicast group.Additionally, whenever a new master SM is elected in the subnet there isan inherent need for end-ports to rejoin any multicast groups for whichthe end-ports are members, because a new SM may assign new MGID to MLIDmappings. In the case of SR-IOV based virtual machine deployments on asubnet, the amount of request traffic that the SM/SA must process ismagnified since multiple vPorts each will perform the same type of SM/SArequests (e.g., multicast group join requests) as a physical end-port.

Consequently, a problem can arise in subnets densely populated (withboth physical and virtual end-ports) when the management requirements ofthe subnet scale beyond the SM's ability to process these requirements.In particular, in the case of less capable SM/SA implementations (e.g.,implementations based on low-performance processor modules connected toa switch management interface), even moderate SA request loads can causesevere overhead and reduced efficiency and higher latency for both theSM as well as the system as a whole.

For highly available (HA) systems where fast-fail over and recovery iscritical, any delay represents a problem. In particular, when sub-secondfail-over time is required, it is important that fabric nodes cancontinue normal operation and communication with other operational nodeswithout interruption (so long as there is no loss of physicalconnectivity between the nodes). Accordingly, it is desirable that allnodes can continue to use existing address and path information for bothunicast and multicast traffic without need to interact with the SM/SA,and that the only interruption of connectivity occurs if the SM needs toperform re-routing or re-initialization due to failed links (orswitches) within the fabric.

Moreover, even with SM/SA implementations based on high end servershaving fully functional HCAs, the use of 256 byte MADs for SAcommunication severely limits performance and scalability. Consequently,even with optimal caching and high performance hardware for SA requestprocessing, the need to re-register (i.e., process new join requestsfor) multicast membership when a new master SM is elected can result inan interruption of connectivity between operational nodes connected byoperational switches and links.

Accordingly, there is a need to optimize the interaction between IBclients and the SM/SA infrastructure. For small to medium sized systemswith lower-end, switch embedded SM/SA implementations, fast discoveryand initialization of the subnet, while avoiding the need to service SArequests or otherwise communicate with the IB clients (i.e. beyonddiscovery and initialize operations at the SMA level) is needed. Forsystems having higher-end SM/SA implementations, processes fordistributing relevant information, by the SM/SA implementations and tothe IB clients, in a way that utilizes optimal IB communicationmechanisms, and that also provides the ability to have hierarchicalimplementations that provide scalability and prevent large scalemulticast storms—even in very large cluster domains—are needed.

Improvements in the existing technological processes for the managementof multicast group creations, joins, deletes, and unjoins can help inovercoming SM/SA overhead and in bolstering the efficiency of SM/SAimplementations.

Dual MLID Allocation for MCGs

As noted above multicast groups can be created in the context of an IBpartition. Further, each partition member can be one of two types:limited or full members. When defining multicast group membership,however, the IB Specification does not discriminate between full andlimited partition members. Thus, because only a single route (e.g., onlya single spanning tree) is determined for each MLID, the determinedroute must deliver a multicast packet to each member port of themulticast group, regardless of what type of partition member a givenport may be.

The limit of one route per MLID can raise issues, since limitedpartition members may not accept packets from other limited partitionmembers, according to the IB Specification. Accordingly, when a limitedpartition member sends a multicast packet, the multicast packetrepresents a P_Key access violation for each receiving port in thepartition that is also a limited member of the partition. Such P_Keyaccess violations can lead to the generation of a P_Key violation trapsent to the SM.

While the IB Specification now reflects that P_Key access violationsthat are the results of multicast packets being forwarded from onelimited partition member to another do not have to be reported as P_Keyaccess violations (via traps to the SM), there is still a significantset of legacy implementations that do not provide this contemporaryfeature. Moreover, link capacity is wasted on the multicast packetitself, which will only be dropped at the destination port after it hasused subnet resources to be forwarded there.

In order to avoid the need for the above special handling of P_Keyaccess violations, as well as to ensure complete isolation betweenlimited partition members in terms of multicast traffic, two MLIDs canbe allocated to a single MCG, in accordance with an embodiment. A firstMLID can be allocated and used by end-ports for sending from fullpartition members to both full and limited partition members (referredto herein as a “full partition member MLID”). Additionally, a secondMLID can be allocated and used by end-ports for sending from limitedpartition members to full partition members (referred to herein as a“limited partition member MLID”). Using this scheme, a limited partitionmember can avoid sending multicast packets to other limited partitionmembers in the MCG.

In accordance with an embodiment, the SM is responsible for providingthe MLID of a multicast group to an end-port that has requestedmembership in the multicast group. The end-port will use the MLIDprovided by the SM when sending multicast packets for the multicastgroup. Moreover, the requesting end-port can provide the P_Key that isassociated with the multicast group that the end-port is requesting tojoin to the SM. The P_Key is part of the MCMemberRecord that is sent tothe SM in an MCG join request. Accordingly, the SM can determine theP_Key that is associated with the MCG that the end-port is requesting tojoin from the join request of the end-port. The SM can also maintain itsown policy information for which end port is a member of whatpartition(s) and also if the port is a limited or full member of therelevant partition(s).

Once the SM has determined the P_key that is associated with the MCGthat an end-port is requesting to join, the SM can determine (from thehigh order bit of the determined P_Key) whether the requesting end-portis a full member or a limited member of the partition that is associatedwith the MCG that the end-port is requesting to join. If it isdetermined that the requesting end-port is a full member of thepartition, the SM can provide the full partition member MLID to theend-port. If the requesting end-port is a limited member of thepartition, the SM can provide the limited partition member MLID to theend-port.

The pseudo code in Listing 1 shows an algorithm for responding to arequest for an MLID (e.g., a request to join an MCG) by an end port, inaccordance with an embodiment.

Listing 1 - receive join request from end-port; - determine partitionmember type of end-port; If join request is from a full partition memberThen  response MLID = full partition member MLID; Else  response MLID =limited partition member MLID; Endif - generate and send join responsemessage including response MLID;

FIG. 30 shows a flow chart for responding to a request for an MLID(e.g., a request to join an MCG) by an end port, in accordance with anembodiment. At start 3002, a join request is received from an end-port.At step 3004, the partition member type of the requesting end-port isdetermined. At decision 3006, it is determined if the join request isfrom a full partition member. If it is determined that the join requestis from a full partition member, control passes to step 3010, where theresponse MLID is set to the value of the full partition member MLIDallocated for the MCG group that the requesting end-port has requestedto join. If it is determined that the join request is not from a fullpartition member, control passes to step 3008, where the response MLIDis set to the value of the limited partition member MLID allocated forthe MCG that the requesting end-port has requested to join. From eitherstep 3010 or 3008, control passes to step 3012, where the response MLIDis sent in a response message to the requesting end-port.

As shown in FIG. 30 and Listing 1, in accordance with an embodiment, theSM can provide an end-port that has requested membership in an MCG witheither the full partition member MLID or the limited partition memberMLID for the MCG based on the partition membership of the requestingend-node for the partition associated with the MCG. This process can befully transparent to the end-node, and not require any change of legacycode or attributes in the SMA of the requesting end-node. Moreover, if alimited partition member tries to use the full MLID to forward packetsto other limited members, then this would constitute a valid P_Keyaccess violation and should be reported accordingly. Such violations arein general a consequence of an end node generating and sending packetsto any destination LID—including any unicast DLID or multicast DLID(i.e., an MLID). However, sent packets can only represent P_Key valuesthat are valid for the sending port and if the send P_Key is not validfor the destination port, then the packet is discarded following a P_Keycheck.

In accordance with an embodiment, the SM can allocate two MLIDs to anMCG—a full partition member MLID, and a limited partition member MLID.Further, the MCG record, as stored by the SM/SA, can include metadatasuch as the full partition member MLID, the limited partition memberMLID, a spanning tree route for the a full partition member MLID, aspanning tree route for the limited partition member MLID, a list ofmember nodes for both MLIDs, the MGID, the related P_Key, etc.

In order to correctly route both the full partition member MLID and thelimited partition member MLID of an MCG, the SM can calculate twospanning trees—one for the full partition member MLID and one for thelimited partition member MLID. Moreover, the SM can determine MFT entrycontents for the relevant MLIDs for all impacted switches for each ofthe determined spanning trees, and forward updated MFTs to any impactedsubnet switches.

FIG. 31 shows an exemplary multicast packet route that can be determinedvia a spanning tree algorithm for a limited partition member MLID insubnet 3100, in accordance with an embodiment. Subnet 3100 includesnodes 3101-3108. Nodes 3101-3108 include HCAs 3109-3116, respectively.Further, HCAs 3109-3116 each include a port—ports 3117-3124,respectively. Every port in subnet 3100 is a member of partition 3170.Likewise, every port in subnet 3100 is a member of MCG 3165.

In subnet 3100, multicast group (MCG) 3165 is defined by SM/SA 3160.Dual MLIDs have been assigned to MCG 3165. Full partition member MLID3172 is depicted in block-diagram form with a solid line. Limitedpartition member MLID 3174 is depicted in block-diagram form with adash-dot line. Ports 3118-3119 and ports 3121 and 3123 are also depictedwith a dash-dot line to indicate that they have received limitedpartition member MLID 3174 from SM/SA 3160 (and, accordingly, that theyare limited members of partition 3170). Further, ports 3117, 3120, 3122,and 3124 are depicted with a solid line to indicate that they havereceived full partition member MLID 3172 from SM/SA 3160 (and,accordingly, that they are full members of partition 3170).

In FIG. 31, links included in a spanning tree to service delivery ofmulticast traffic for limited partition member MLID 3174 are depicted insolid line. This is because a spanning tree generated for delivery of amulticast packet having a limited partition member MLID as the packet'sDLID will only deliver the multicast packet to full members of thepartition. In accordance with an embodiment, SM/SA 3160 can, whengenerating the spanning tree for limited partition member MLID 3174,determine each member of partition 3170 (that is also a member of MCG3165), and determine a spanning tree that will deliver packets havinglimited partition member MLID 3174 as a DLID only to the determined fullmembers of partition 3170. In this way, no multicast packets having alimited member P_Key will be delivered to any other port that is alimited member of the partition 3170. Accordingly, no P_Key accessviolations will be triggered and sent to the SM/SA, and link resourceswill not be wasted on a packet that will ultimately be dropped at thedelivery port.

With further reference to FIG. 31, links 3142, 3141 and 3143 can beincluded in the spanning tree determined for limited partition memberMLID 3174. Additionally, links 3125, 3128, 3130, and 3132, which serviceend-ports 3117, 3120, 3122, and 3124, respectively, can also be includedin the spanning tree for limited partition member MLID 3174. Thus, thespanning tree for limited partition member MLID 3174 can ensure that amulticast packet having limited partition member MLID 3174 as the DLIDwill only be delivered to each end-port that is both a member of MCG3165 and a full member of partition 3170.

If, for example, port 3121 injects a multicast packet into the subnet,it will be received by switch 3152. Switch 3152 can then forward a copyof the multicast packet to each of the links designated in the spanningtree. Thus, switch 3152 can forward a copy of the received multicastpacket to links 3142, 3141, and 3130. In this scenario, port 3122 willreceive a copy of the multicast packet via link 3130, switch 3150 willreceive a copy via link 3142, and switch 3151 will receive a copy vialink 3141. From here, switch 3150 can also forward a copy of themulticast packet received from link 3142 to link 3125 (but not to link3126, since it is not part of the spanning tree). This pattern cancontinue, following the spanning tree throughout the subnet, until allfull partition member ports have received a copy of the multicastpacket.

The spanning tree route for full member MLID 3172 is not shown in FIG.31. This is because, since every node in subnet 3100 is a member of MCG3165 and a member of partition 3170 (as noted above), the route wouldinclude every port 3117-3124, in accordance with an embodiment.Nonetheless, SM/SA 3160 can generate the spanning tree for the fullmember MLID 3172 in the same manner as discussed above, except for thateach port 3117-3124 would be included in the spanning tree for fullmember MLID 3172.

In accordance with an embodiment, SM/SA 3160 can generate MFTs for eachimpacted switch 3150-3153 based on the spanning trees shown in FIG. 31.Once generated, the SM/SA 3160 can send the MFTs to the switches3150-3153 for implementation by the respective switches. Moreover, MFTsfor the spanning tree generated for full member MLID 3172 can begenerated and sent to switches 3150-3153 for implementation by therespective switches. These respective sets of MFTs can be generatedaccording to the process described above with respect to FIG. 17.

In accordance with an embodiment, end-ports can be aware that the SM hasallocated dual MLIDs to an MCG. When an end-port is aware that the SMhas allocated dual MLIDs to an MCG, the end-port can distinguish betweenthe dual MLIDs. Such awareness can allow the end-port to use the limitedpartition member MLID in order to only forward multicast packets toother full partition members within the relevant MCG—even if theend-port is a full member of the corresponding partition.

Additional properties can be added to, e.g., the PortInfo attribute, toallow an end-port to be aware of, and take advantage of, dual MLIDsallocated to an MCG. In accordance with an embodiment, one such propertycan indicate if an end-port supports distinguishing between full memberand limited member MLIDs. For instance, a “DualMLIDAllocation” indicatorcan be added to the PortInfo attribute. The DualMLIDAllocation indicatorcan be, for example, a bit where, when the bit is set high, theindication is that the end-port supports distinguishing between fullmember and limited member MLIDs. The DualMLIDAllocation indicator can beset to false by default (e.g., the bit can be set low). The SMA of asupporting HCA can set the DualMLIDAllocation indicator to true duringlink up/initialization. If set to true (e.g., set high), a supporting SMcan update associated SMA properties.

Another such property can indicate whether dual MLIDs have beenallocated to MCGs in a subnet, in accordance with an embodiment. Anexemplary property can be a “DualMLIDAllocationInUse” indicator. TheDualMLIDAllocationInUse indicator can be, for example, a bit where, whenthe bit is set high, the indication is that a supporting SM hasallocated dual MLIDs (i.e., one for full partition members and one forlimited partition members) to multicast groups defined in the subnet.The DualMLIDAllocationInUse indicator can be set to false by default(e.g., the bit can be set low). A supporting SM can set theDualMLIDAllocationInUse indicator to true if the SM has allocated dualMLIDs to MCGs in the subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, the allocation of a second MLID foruse by limited partition members can follow a convention in order tolower subnet overhead and traffic. For instance, the second MLID for useby limited partition members can be defined as the next MLID value(numerically) after the MLID value allocated for use by full partitionmembers. In this way, supporting end-ports can determine the value ofthe second MLID without actually receiving it from the SM.

In accordance with an embodiment, a property of. e.g., the PortInfoattribute, can indicate that a convention is followed by the SM withrespect to allocation of a second MLID for use by limited partitionmembers. An exemplary indicator can be a “ConsecutiveDualMLIDs”indicator. The indicator (e.g., ConsecutiveDualMLIDs) can be, forexample, a bit where, when the bit is set high, the indication is thatthe second MLID for use by limited partition members is defined as thenext MLID value (numerically) after the MLID value allocated for use byfull partition members. The ConsecutiveDualMLIDs indicator can be set tofalse by default (e.g., the bit can be set low). A supporting SM can setthe ConsecutiveDualMLIDs indicator to true if the SM allocates thesecond MLID for use by limited partition members as the next MLID value(numerically) after the MLID value allocated for use by full partitionmembers.

In accordance with an embodiment, an end-port that is both aware of dualMLID allocation to MCGs in a subnet, and is a full member of a partitionassociated with an MCG that has been allocated dual MLIDs, can request,in a join request to the SM, that the limited partition member MLID bereturned by the SM. The SM can check that the end-port is a full memberof the partition associated with the MCG that the end-port is requestingto join, and if it is determined by the SM that the end-port is a fullmember of that partition, then the SM can return the limited partitionmember MLID to the requesting end-port. This method can be used by afull-partition-member end-port in order to forward multicast packetsonly to other full-partition-member end-ports that are also members ofthe relevant MCG.

In accordance with an embodiment, a message type can be defined thatboth requests that the sending end-port be joined to the MCG specifiedin the message (i.e., associated with the MGID specified in themessage), and that requests that the limited partition member MLID bereturned to the requesting end-port. This message type can contain thesame parameters as an ordinary join operation, with the exception thatthe limited partition member MLID is returned to the requestingend-port, instead of the (default) full partition member MLID. Thismessage type can be implemented as, for example, a property of theMCMemberRecord attribute (e.g., a GetLimitedMLID property), or as a newSA method.

In accordance with an embodiment, IB implementations that support theuse, configuration, and/or management of dual MLID allocation to MCGscan include state-change events for the properties employed in the use,configuration, and/or management of dual MLID allocation to MCGs (e.g.,DualMLIDAllocation, and DualMLIDAllocationInUse, as described above).Further, IB implementations that support the use, configuration, and/ormanagement of dual MLID allocation to MCGs can include verb interfacesfor querying the value of the properties used in the use, configuration,and/or management of dual MLID allocation to MCGs (e.g.,DualMLIDAllocation, and DualMLIDAllocationInUse, as described above).

FIG. 32 shows a flow chart for configuring an end-port for use with dualMLIDs allocated for an MCG, in accordance with an embodiment. At step3202, an SM allocates dual MLIDs to an MCG. At step 3204, the SMreceives an indication that an end-port connected to the subnet supportsdual MLID allocation to an MCG. At step 3206, the SM sets an indicatorin the end-port that indicates the SM has allocated dual MLIDs to anMCG. At step 3208, the SM receives a request from the end-port to jointhe MCG. At step 3210, the SM provides the end-port with one of the dualMLIDs allocated to the MCG. At step 3212, the method can end.

FIG. 33 illustrates a flow chart for providing dual multicast localidentifiers (MLIDs) per multicast group to facilitate both full andlimited partition members in a high performance computing environment,in accordance with an embodiment. At step 3310, a first multicast localidentifier and a second multicast local identifier are associated with amulticast global identifier that defines a multicast group in a subnet.At step 3330, a number of end-ports of the subnet that are members ofthe multicast group and that are members of a first partition defined inthe subnet are determined. At step 3340, a first subset of the number ofend-ports that are full members of the partition is determined. At step3350, a second subset of the number of end-ports that are limitedmembers of the partition is determined. At step 3360, the firstmulticast local identifier is associated with each end-port of the firstsubset of the number of end-ports. At step 3370, the second multicastlocal identifier is associated with each end-port of the second subsetof the number of end-ports. At step 3380, a first route through thesubnet topology to deliver a multicast packet that includes the firstmulticast local identifier to each of the determined number of end-portsof the subnet that are members of the multicast group and that aremembers of a first partition defined in the subnet is determined. Atstep 3390, a second route through the subnet topology to deliver amulticast packet that includes the second multicast local identifieronly to each end-port of the determined first subset of the number ofend-ports that are full members of the partition is determined.

Multicast Group (MCG) Membership Defined Relative to PartitionMembership

In accordance with an embodiment, it is not uncommon that all end-portsthat are members of a particular IB partition are also all members of aparticular IB multicast group. For example, and as noted above, theIPoIB broadcast group is a multicast group defined in the context of anIB partition. Each of the end-ports that is a member of the partition isalso a member of the broadcast group defined in the context of thatpartition. This allows legacy applications using the IP protocol toreceive broadcast packets via the IB subnet.

As further discussed above, however, each end-port member of the IBpartition to which the broadcast group corresponds must send a joinrequest to the SM/SA in order to become a member of the broadcast(multicast) group. In response to an MCG join request, in addition toassociating the LID of the requesting end-port with the MGID of thebroadcast group, the SM must recreate the single spanning tree (asdiscussed above), and recreate and send the MFT of any impacted switch.In order to avoid the overhead and inefficiency of this scenario,multicast groups that are defined in the context of a certain partitioncan be indicated as such, in accordance with an embodiment. Further theSM can determine when a partition is associated with a multicast groupin this manner, and can then automatically add the partition members tothe multicast group, without the need to receive an MCG join requestfrom each member of the partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, when the SM receives a request tocreate a new multicast group (MCG), the subnet manager can examine therequest to determine the traditional parameters (e.g., the parametersspecified in the IB specification) needed in order to define a multicastgroup. As noted above, a P_Key is one of the parameters required in arequest to define a multicast group. Additionally, a parameter, orindicator, can be included in the request (e.g., a“JoinAllPartitionMembers” parameter) that indicates whether each memberof the partition that corresponds to the P_Key included in the requestis to also be added as a member of the new multicast group. Upon adetermination, by the SM, that the parameter indicates that eachend-port member of the specified partition is also to be added to thenew multicast group, the SM can associate the LID of each member of thespecified partition with the MGID of the new multicast group.

This method eliminates the need for each end-port member (other than acreating end-port member, if the MCG is dynamically created) of thepartition specified in the MCG create request to communicate a joinrequest to the SM for the newly created MCG, since these partitionmembers can be added as a result of the indication of the additionalparameter included in the MCG create request. Thus, this method greatlyreduces communication between clients/end-ports and the SM/SAimplementation, especially during the critical time of fabricinitialization, when the majority of such communications are ordinarilytaking place.

Additionally, this method eliminates the need for the SM/SA to generatea spanning tree after each join request and update and send MFTs toswitches affected by each individual join request. Rather, the SM canassociate all the LIDs of the partition members with the MGID of thenewly created MCG. Then, the SM can create a single spanning tree thattakes into account each of the LIDs added to the MCG. From this spanningtree, the SM can generate a set of MFTs that accounts for all of theLIDs added to the MCG, and send this set of MFTs to the subnet switches.Consequently, SM workload can be greatly reduced during initializationand at other times.

FIG. 34 shows a flow chart for providing multicast group membershipdefined relative to partition membership in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment. At step 3410, a subnetmanager of a subnet receives a request to create a multicast group,where the request includes an indicator and where the indicatorindicates that each member of a partition defined in the subnet is to beassociated with the multicast group. At step 3420 the subnet managerdetermines a number of additional end-ports that are members of thepartition that is defined in the subnet. At step 3430, the subnetmanager associates the number of additional end-ports that are membersof the partition with an identifier that defines the multicast group. Atstep 3440 the subnet manager defines a route to deliver a multicastpacket that includes the identifier that defines the multicast group toeach end-port that is associated with the identifier that defines themulticast group.

FIG. 35 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup membership defined relative to partition membership in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.More specifically, FIG. 35 shows a flowchart for setting up multicastrouting, and updating multicast forwarding tables based upon a multicastgroup create request indicating that each member of a correspondingpartition should be added to the created multicast group.

With reference to FIG. 35, at step 3505 a MCG join request or MCG createinstruction indicating all partition members should be members of therelevant MCG can be received. At decision step 3510, it can bedetermined if the request is an initial request with regard to the MCG.If it is determined not to be an initial request with regard to the MCG,it can further be determined if the request is a join request to jointhe relevant MCG at step 3515. If it is determined that the request is ajoin request, an MCG record can be returned with an updated MLID at step3520. If, however, it is determined at step 3510 that the request is aninitial request with regard to the MCG, then control can pass to step3525. At step 3525, an MLID can be allocated for the MCG. Then, at step3530, all relevant partition members can be retrieved from cachedtopology information. A spanning tree including all partition memberend-nodes can be generated are step 3535. At step 3540, the MFTs ofimpacted switches can be updated and to reflect the spanning tree, andthe updated MFTs can be send to their respective switches.

Table 1 shows an exemplary subnet administration attribute (e.g., aMCMemberRecord attribute) for creating a multicast group including aparameter that is used by the SM/SA to indicate whether each member of acorresponding partition should also be added as a member of a newlycreated multicast group. The attribute in Table 1 includes traditionalparameters specified in the IB Specification for creating a new MCG. Theattribute specified in Table 1 further includes aJoinAllPartitionMembers parameter, or indicator, that indicates whethereach member of a corresponding partition should also be added as amember of the created multicast group. The corresponding partition canbe the partition specified in the attribute.

TABLE 1 Length Offset Component (bits) (bits) Description MGID 128 0Multicast GID address for this multicast group. PortGID 128 128 ValidGID of the endport joining this multicast group. Q_Key 32 256 Q_Key tobe used by this multicast group. MLID 16 288 Multicast LID for thismulticast group, assigned by SA at creation time. MTUSelector 2 304 In aquery request: 3-largest MTU available. MTU 6 306 MTU required. TClass 8312 Traffic class. P_Key 16 320 P_Key 16 320 Partition key for thismulticast group. This partition key may indicate full or limitedmembership. RateSelector 2 336 RateSelector. Rate 6 338 Rate.PacketLifeTimeSelector 2 344 PacketLifeTimeSelector. PacketLifeTime 6346 Maximum estimated time for a packet to traverse a path within themulticast group. SL 4 352 Service Level. FlowLabel 20 356 FlowLabel.HopLimit 8 376 HopLimit. Scope 4 384 Multicast Address Scope JoinState 4388 Join/Leave Status. ProxyJoin 1 392 Proxy joinJoinAllPartitionMembers 1 393 Indicates whether all members of acorresponding partition should be added to the newly created multicastgroup. Reserved 22 394 Reserved.

In accordance with an embodiment, upon receipt of an attribute such asthat in Table 1 (where the attribute is included in either anadministrative or dynamic request to create a new MCG), logic in theSM/SA can determine the value of the JoinAllPartitionMembers parameter.Based on the determined value of the JoinAllPartitionMembers parameter,the SM can determine that each member of a corresponding partitionshould be added to the new MCG group. That is, the LID(s) of eachend-port member of the partition should be associated with the MGID thatdefines the new MCG. These associations can then be stored in, e.g., theSA data store.

For example, an SM can receive a MAD requesting that a new multicastgroup be created. The MAD can specify the SubnAdmSet( ) method, which isprovided by the Subnet Administration class defined in the IBSpecification. The MAD can further specify the MCMemberRecord attribute,wherein the parameters noted above (i.e., MGID, P_Key, Q_KEY, etc.) canbe specified. In addition the MCMemberRecord attribute can include theJoinAllPartitionMembers parameter. In accordance with an embodiment, theJoinAllPartitionMembers parameter can be a single bit.

Upon receiving the MAD, including the MCMemberRecord attribute with theJoinAllPartitionMembers parameter, the SM/SA can determine the value ofthe JoinAllPartitionMembers parameter. For example, theJoinAllPartitionMembers parameter bit may be set to 1, indicating thateach member of the partition specified by the P_Key parameter of theMCMemberRecord should be joined to the new MCG group. Upon determiningthat the JoinAllPartitionMembers parameter bit is set to 1 (or 0,depending on design), logic in the subnet manager can add all members ofthe partition represented by the P_Key specified in the MCMemberRecordattribute to the newly created MCG.

FIG. 36 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup membership defined relative to partition membership in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment. Atstep 3600, an end node, which is a member of a partition, such aspartition A, can initiate a multicast group (MCG) join request to joinan MCG, such as MCG A. At step 3605, a subnet manager can receive theMCG join request. In the depicted method, the MCG to which the joinrequest was directed has already been assigned a multicast localidentifier (MLID) within the subnet. At step 3610, the SM manager candetermine whether the other members of partition A are also alreadymembers of MCG A (e.g., if the end node is a new addition to the subnetand is requesting to be added to the MCG A). In such a case, the MCGjoin request is processed normally, 3615, and the method ends. If,however, the other members of partition A (some or all other members)are not members of MCG A, then the SM can automatically add, at step3620, all other members of partition A to MCG A, based solely upon theMCG join request the SM received from the first end node. Once the othermembers of partition A are added to the MCG A, the SM can update, at3625, the MLID for MCG A to include the other members of partition A asdestinations for MC packets addressed to MCG A. The method can end at3630.

Default MLID Values Per Partition as SMA Attributes

In accordance with an embodiment, and as noted above, it is possible formultiple MCGs to share the same MLID. That is, it is possible formultiple MGIDs (which define multicast groups) to be associated with oneand the same MLID. Moreover, MCGs that share the same MLID will sharethe same routing of their respective multicast packets through thesubnet, since multicast packet routing is based on the MLID specified asthe DLID of the multicast packet. Accordingly, a subnet manager canallocate a dedicated MLID per partition where the partition has one ormore MCGs defined in the context of the partition. All MCGs associatedwith, or defined in the context of, the partition can then share a sameMLID. This allows for a greater number of LIDs within a subnet, sinceless of the finite number of LIDs will be used for multicast groups.This also enables the SM of the subnet to create a single spanning treeand to create a single set of MFTs for multiple MCGs that are associatedwith the same partition, thereby reducing SM/SA overhead.

In accordance with an embodiment SM policy can specify that a defaultMLID be defined for a partition. The policy can specify that eachpartition in the subnet be allocated a default MLID, or that onlypartitions defined for multicast communication (i.e., those partitionshaving MCGs defined in their context) be allocated a default MLID.Further, default MLIDs can be made known to the end-port members of therelevant partition by virtue of the end-ports' membership in therelevant partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, default MLID values can be provided asmeta-data relative to the P_Key table contents that the SM delivers toeach port during initialization of the subnet. In this manner, theend-port members of a particular partition can be made aware of the MLIDof any MCG that is set up in the context of the particular partition, solong as the end-ports are a member of the particular partition.Accordingly, end-ports can learn MLIDs for MCG groups of which theend-ports are a member in an a priori manner, and thereby avoid sendingan MCG join request to be processed by the SM.

In the case where a default (i.e., a “partition specific”) MLID isallocated for one or more MCGs associated with a partition, thepartition specific MLID can be provided to an end-port as an SMAattribute, along with each P_Key that will be placed in the end-port'sP_Key table, in accordance with an embodiment. The P_Key tableinformation can be logically extended by including an association, orrelationship, between the P_Key table entries and entries in a defaultMLID table.

The size of the P_Key table can be specified by the PartitionCapcomponent of the NodeInfo attribute that, according to the IBSpecification, is implemented by each node (e.g., each HCA) of thesubnet. The size of the P_Key table is generally vendor specific, butthe PartitionCap component is set to at least a value of one (1) foreach node, to indicate that the P_Key table can store at least one16-bit P_Key, since each end-port is a member of at least the defaultpartition. Larger P_Key tables are common, however. In accordance withan embodiment, a conventional P_Key table can comprise an array wherethe number of elements of the array equals the number specified in thePartitionCap component of the node.

In accordance with an embodiment, an HCA can be configured to store adefault MLID table that includes the partition specific MLID (if one hasbeen allocated) of any partitions that the end-port is a member of. Thedefault MLID table of an end-port can be associated with the P_Key tableof the end-port such that each entry in the P_Key table is mapped to anentry in the default MLID table.

For example, in an embodiment where the P_Key table is an array, thedefault MLID table can also be an array. The default MLID table arraycan have the same number of elements as the P_Key table array.Additionally, the index value of a given element in the P_Key tablearray can be equal to the index value of the element in the default MLIDtable array that holds the default MLID allocated for the partitionrepresented by the P_Key held in the given element of the P_Key tablearray. That is, the P_Key table and the default MLID table can beparallel arrays. In this way, each element of the P_Key table can bemapped directly to an element of the default MLID table, and theend-port node can determine the default MLID allocated to a partition(if any) through use of the P_Key table to default MLID table mappings.

Listing #2 represents the P_Key table and the default MLID table asexemplary parallel arrays, in accordance with an embodiment. As can beseen in Listing #2, the P_Key table is an array that is parallel to thedefault MLID table array, such that, for a P_Key at P_Key array elementN, the default MLID associated with the P_Key will be found at theDefault MLID array element N.

Listing #2 P_KEY Array DefaultMLID Array P_Key [0] = 10 DefaultMLID [0]= 50000 P_Key [1] = 11 DefaultMLID [1] = 50002 P_Key [2] = 12DefaultMLID [2] = 50004 P_Key [3] = 13 DefaultMLID [3] = 50006

Other exemplary embodiments of P_Key table to default MLID tablemappings include a relational database structure utilizing, for example,primary and foreign keys and/or mapping tables, to create relationshipsbetween a P_Key in the P_key table and its allocated default MLID(s) inthe default MLID table. In yet another embodiment, a 2-dimensional array(or a multidimensional array, in the case of dual default MLIDs beingallocated to a partition) can be used to create the described mappingrelationship between a partition key and a default MLID. Still otherembodiments can include file architectures, such as comma separatedvalue, etc. Any suitable mapping technique can be used to create thedescribed relation between the P_Key of a partition and a default M LIDallocated to the partition.

In the case where dual default partition specific MLIDs have beenallocated to an MCG (as described in detail, above), two independentvalues may be represented in the default MLID table—one value for theMLID assigned to MCG members with full partition membership, and onevalue for the MLID assigned to MCG members with limited partitionmembership. Alternatively, a single value could be represented in thedefault MLID table with a convention defined that would allow thecorresponding value (either the full or limited member MLID value) to beeasily derived. For example, in the case where the MLID assigned to MCGmembers with full partition membership is represented in the defaultMLID table, the convention could specify that the MLID assigned to MCGmembers with full partition membership is that of the full membershipMLID plus one (i.e., full partition member MLID+1=limited partitionmember MLID). Thus, one of the dual MLIDs would not have to beexplicitly known, or communicated to, the end-port.

In accordance with an embodiment, if no default MLID is assigned to apartition, the element in the P_Key table that holds the P_Keyrepresenting that partition can be mapped to a value known (by the nodehousing the P_Key table) to indicate that there is no default MLIDallocated for that partition. For example, if there is no default MLIDallocated to a certain partition, then the element in the default MLIDtable that is mapped to the element in the partition table that holdsthe P_Key for the particular partition can store the value of zero (0),where a value of zero indicates that no default MLID has been allocatedfor the corresponding partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, IB components can support a defaultMLID table of an end-port of a node. For example, an HCA can not onlyinclude a default MLID table, but can also support its configuration anduse through attributes. Further, a subnet manager can also work inconjunction with a node to support configuration and management of adefault MLID table through the use of such attributes.

One such attribute can be a flag, or indicator, that a node (e.g., anHCA) supports a default MLID table. Such an indicator can have a defaultvalue of “false”. For instance, an SM that supports theuse/configuration/management of default MLID tables can set a defaultMLID table support attribute (e.g., a “HasDefaultMLIDsTable” attribute)to “false”. Accordingly, if the SM discovers any HCAs that do notsupport a default MLID table, the SM will not send unsupported attributemodifiers to the non-supporting HCA in an attempt to configure a defaultMLID table that is not supported, or included in, the non-supportingHCA.

During initialization, the SM can discover HCAs connected to the subnet,and send configuration information to the discovered HCAs. The HCAs canalso communicate with, or respond to requests from, the SM aboutsupported capabilities of the HCAs. In accordance with an embodiment,when a discovered HCA does not explicitly communicate that it supports adefault MLID table, the SM can simply leave the default setting for,e.g., a HasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute, as false. Conversely, if an HCAsupports a default MLID table, the supporting HCA can set the attributeto “true” in a communication to an initializing SM. Such a communicationcan be a direct communication to the SM, or can be a response to arequest for information (such as a SubnGet( ) SMP, where the response isin the form of a SubnGetResp( ) SMP back to the SM).

Once a node has communicated to the (supporting) SM that the node'send-port supports a default MLID table, the SM can configure the defaultMLID table of the end-port. The SM can maintain a record of defaultMLIDs. Each of the default MLIDs can be associated with a respectivepartition. These MLIDs can be associated with their respectivepartitions (i.e., assigned as the default MLID of their respectivepartitions) by subnet policy. The subnet manager can determine whatpartitions a supporting end-port is a member of, update the end-port'sP_Key table, and, based on the updated P_Key table, can update thedefault MLID table.

In accordance with an embodiment, HCAs that support a default MLID tablefor use with an end-port can include an attribute that indicates whetherthe default MLID table is in use. For example, an HCA that includes, andsupports the use of, a default MLID table can also include aDefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute. This attribute can be set to “true” bythe SM once the SM updates the MLID table of the supporting end-port. AnIB client can then use the attribute to determine if MLID valuesrelevant to the client can be learned/retrieved from a supportingend-port's default MLID table.

In accordance with an embodiment, the pseudo code shown in Listing 3,below, shows a method for updating a default MLID table of an end-portaccording to a partition table of the end-port.

Listing 3 If end-port's HasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute is true Then  Ifend-port's DefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute is false Then   - Clear thedefault MLID table of the end-port;   - Set the end-port'sDefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute to true;   If end-port's partition tablerequires updating Then     - Update the partition table of the end-port;  Endif   - Update the default MLID table of the end-port according tothe  updated partition table;  Else   If Partition table requiresupdating Then    - Clear the default MLID table of the end-port;    -Update the partition table of the end-port;    - Update the default MLIDtable of the end-port according to the    updated partition table;  Endif  Endif Else  If Partition table requires update Then   - Updatethe partition table of the port;  Endif Endif

FIG. 37 is a flow chart of a method for updating a default MLID table ofan end-port according to a partition table of the end-port, inaccordance with an embodiment. With reference to FIG. 37 (and asreflected in the pseudo code in Listing 3), when updating the P_Keytable of an end-port, an SM can first determine if the end-port supportsa default MLID table by checking the attribute that indicates such(e.g., a HasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute). If the end-port does notsupport default MLID tables (e.g., if the end-port'sHasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute if false), the SM can continue to updatethe partition table of the end-port if the partition table needs to beupdated. However, if the end-port supports (and, accordingly, includes)a default MLID table (e.g., if the end-port's HasDefaultMLIDsTableattribute is true), then the SM can check the value of the attribute ofthe end-port that indicates whether the default MLID table of theend-port is in use.

With continued reference to FIG. 37, if the attribute of the end-portthat indicates whether the default MLID table of the end-port is in use(e.g., the end-port's DefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute) is set to true,and if the partition table of the end-port needs to be updated, then theSM can leave this attribute set to true, clear the default MLID table ofthe end-port, update the partition table of the end-port, and thenupdate the default MLID table of the end-port based on the updatedpartition table of the end-port.

Conversely, if the attribute of the end-port that indicates whether thedefault MLID table of the end-port is in use (e.g., the end-port'sDefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute) is set to false, the SM can clear thedefault MLID table of the end-port, and set this attribute to true.Then, if the end-port's partition table requires updating, the SM canupdate the partition table. Finally, the SM can update the default MLIDtable of the end-port based on the updated partition table of theend-port.

FIG. 38 is flow chart of a method for determining, by an IB client,default MLID values from the default MLID table of a supportingend-port, in accordance with an embodiment. With reference to FIG. 38,in retrieving/learning default MLIDs from the default MLID table of asupporting end-port, an IB client can first determine if the contents ofthe relevant local end-port's P_Key table has been changed or updated.This can be determined, e.g., by a local port event that the IB clientis aware of. Once it is determined that the contents of the P_Key tableof the local end-port has changes, the contents of the P_Key table canbe copied to a local cache. The IB client can check that the localend-port both supports a default MLID table (e.g., that the end-port'sHasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute is true) and that the MLID table is inuse (e.g., the end-port's DefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute is set totrue). If both attributes are set to true, then, for each valid entry inthe end-port's P_Key table, the IB client can wait until thecorresponding entry in the end-port's default MLID table indicates adefault MLID (e.g., until the entry is non-zero), and then copy the MLIDtable contents to the local cache.

The pseudo code shown in Listing 4, below, shows a method fordetermining, by an IB client, default MLID values from the default MLIDtable of a supporting end-port, in accordance with an embodiment.

Listing 4 If local end-port event indicates P_Key table contents mayhave changed Then  - copy the end-port P_Key table contents to localcache  If HasDefaultMLIDsTable attribute is True AND DefaultMLIDTableInUse attribute is True Then   - clear the default MLIDtable of the end-port   For each valid entry in P_Key table Do    - waituntil corresponding MLID array entry is non-zero    - copy MLID arrayentry contents to local cache   Endfor  Endif Endif

In accordance with an embodiment, IB implementations that support theuse, configuration, and/or management of default MLID tables can includestate-change events for the attributes used in the use, configuration,and/or management of default MLID tables (e.g., the attributes describedabove). Further, IB implementations that support the use, configuration,and/or management of default MLID tables can include verb interfaces forquerying the value of the attributes used in the use, configuration,and/or management of default MLID tables (e.g., the attributes describedabove).

FIG. 39 illustrates a flow chart of a method for providing defaultmulticast local identifier (MLID) values per partition as additionalsubnet management agent (SMA) attributes in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment. At step 3900 a table forstoring partition keys is provided at a node of a subnet, where thepartition keys define a partition of the subnet. At step 3910, a tablefor storing multicast local identifiers is provided at the node of thesubnet. At step 3920 a relationship between an element of the table forstoring partition keys and an element of the table for storing multicastlocal identifiers is configured, where the relationship maps the elementof the table for storing partition keys to the element of the table forstoring multicast local identifiers. At step 3930, a communication to asubnet manager of the subnet is sent from the node, the communicationindicating that the node supports a table for storing multicast localidentifiers. At step 3940 a partition key is received at the node. Atstep 3950, a multicast local identifier is received at the node. At step3960, the partition key is stored in the table for storing partitionkeys. At step 3970, the multicast local identifier is stored in thetable for storing multicast local identifiers. At step 3980, therelationship between the element of the table for storing partition keysand the element of the table for storing multicast local identifiers isused to retrieve the multicast local identifier from the table forstoring multicast local identifiers. At step 3990 a multicast localidentifier field in a multicast group record of the node is populatedwith the retrieved multicast local identifier from the table for storingmulticast local identifiers.

Dynamic Discovery of MLIDs by End-Ports

According to the IB Specification, a QP must be attached to a multicastgroup (i.e., associated with an MGID that represents the multicastgroup) in order to receive IB multicast messages. A QP is attached to ordetached from a multicast group through the use of IB verbs. IB verbsare a service interface, including a set of semantics, that exposerequired behavior of an HCA to a consumer of the I/O services providedby the HCA (i.e., an IB client). Verbs describe operations that takeplace between an HCA and the IB client based on a particular queuingmodel for submitting work requests to the HCA and returning completionstatus. Verbs describe the parameters necessary for configuring andmanaging the channel adapter, allocating (creating and destroying) queuepairs, configuring QP operation, posting work requests to the QP,getting completion status from the completion queue.

It is a requirement of the IB Specification that an IB client know theMGID of an MCG that it wishes to join. In a conventional join request,the end-port associated with the IB client passes the known MGID to theSM so that the SM is aware of what MCG to join the end-port to.Moreover, as noted above, a QP must be attached to a multicast group(i.e., associated with an MGID that represents the multicast group) inorder to receive IB multicast messages. Consequently, and in accordancewith an embodiment, HCAs can support IB clients associating local QPswith the MGID of relevant multicast groups (MCGs) without sending a joinrequest to the SM. Therefore, end-ports of such supporting HCAs canbegin to receive multicast packets of an MCG without sending a joinrequest, to the SM, requesting membership in the MCG from which thepackets are received.

FIG. 40 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing multicastgroup multicast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment. At step 4000, a local unreliable datagram (UD) QP can beassociated with an MGID of an MCG. At step 4005, a multicast packet fromthe MCG can be received at an ULP. At step 4010, the ULP can determine,from the multicast packet, an MLID of the MCG. At step 4015, the ULP canassociate the MLID of the MCG with another UD QP. At step 4020, a localMCG address cache can be updated to reflect the association of the MLIDwith the MCG/MGID.

In accordance with an embodiment, HCAs can support a query parameterthat can be evaluated to determine whether the HCA supports QPassociation with an MGID (i.e., an MCG) without the MLID being known.For example a “NoMLIDRequiredForQPMCGAttach” parameter may be includedas a queryable parameter in supporting HCAs. The default value for sucha parameter can be “false.” The HCA interface provider can set theparameter to “true” when the HCA implementation supports an unknown MLID(e.g., a value of zero in the MLID parameter) during QP to MCGassociation operations. Such a parameter may be queried by an IB clientto determine whether the HCA supports an unknown MLID (e.g., a value ofzero in the MLID parameter) during QP to MCG association operations.Appropriate verbs can also be supplied by the interface provider forquerying the parameter and for QP to MCG association with an unknownMLID.

In accordance with an embodiment, Listing #5 shows exemplary pseudo codefor associating a QP with an MCG depending on whether the queried HCAsupports an unknown MLID during QP to MCG association operations.

Listing # 5 If NoMLIDRequiredForQPMCGAttach is True Then  - perform QPattach to MCG operation setting MLID to 0; Else  - perform SM/SA requestto join relevant MCG;  - get response from SM/SA including SM allocatedMLID for  relevant MCG;  - perform QP attach to MCG operation settingMLID to SM allocated  MLID; Endif

FIG. 41 is a flowchart of a method for providing multicast groupmulticast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for a relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) ina high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment. More particularly, the figure shows a flowchart for decidinglocal QP association with MCG with or without MLID.

The method can start with creating a local QP at step 4105. If local HCAinformation indicates that QP can be attached to MCG without MLIDspecified (at step 4110), then the QP can be attached to MCG via anoperation specifying relevant MGID, but MLID=0, at step 4115. If not,then a conventional SA request to join relevant MCG and get responsewith relevant MLID can be performed at step 4125. Then, a QP attach toMCG operation specifying relevant MGID and MLID value received inresponse from SA can be performed at step 4130.

A request from an end-port to join an MCG generally ensures that twonecessary aspects of multicast packet delivery are performed. First, asuccessful join request includes the SM incorporating the requestingend-port into the multicast route of the MCG that the end-port hasrequested to join. Second, one or more QPs are associated with the MGIDof the MCG that the end-port has requested to join. As noted above, thesecond aspect can be performed without the end-port sending a joinrequest to the SM, since the information to perform the second aspect isknown by, e.g., the IB client or a ULP. Moreover, as also describedabove, the SM can incorporate the appropriate end-ports into themulticast route of an MCG implicitly, as a matter ofadministrative/subnet policy, or as a side-effect of a “create join”operation for the MCG—for instance, the relevant end-port may beincluded in the spanning tree route for an MCG as a product of MCGmembership defined relative to partition membership, as described above.Thus, in accordance with an embodiment, multicast packets can bereceived by an end-node without the end-node sending a conventional joinrequest to the SM.

In order to send a multicast packet, however, and end-port must know theMLID associated with the MCG. The IB Specification does not require thatan end-node be aware of the MLID of an MCG in order to join the MCG,since, conventionally, the MLID will be supplied by the SM to theend-port in the MCMemberRecord attribute returned to the end-port by theSM in response to a join request. If it can be assumed, however, that anend-port has been incorporated into the multicast route for an MCG, andthat a QP has been associated with the MGID of the same MCG, there areother options for an end-port to learn the MLID of the MCG beyondsending, and receiving a response to, a conventional join request.

In accordance with an embodiment, an IB client/ULP can learn the MLID ofan MCG from inspecting the MLID field of a multicast packet received atthe end-port associated with the IB client/ULP. Each multicast packetalso includes the MGID of the MCG that the packet is associated with.Accordingly, the IB client/ULP can determine the MGID included in thereceived multicast packet, then inspect the MLID (i.e., the DLID of thereceived multicast packet) and store the discovered MLID as the MLID ofthe MCG represented by the MGID determined from the received packet.Thus, the IB client/ULP can dynamically learn the MLID of the MCGwithout sending, and receiving a response to, a conventional MCG joinrequest.

One challenge in learning the MLID of an MCG by determining the MGID andinspecting the MLID field of a multicast packet is that there must be aninitial multicast packet sent including the relevant MGID. Regarding anMCG dynamically created by an end-port performing a create/joinoperation, in accordance with an embodiment, the IB client/ULPassociated with the creating end-port can be configured to send aninitial multicast packet (e.g., a gratuitous ARP). MCG member end-portscan then perform inspection on this delivered packet.

In the case of SM-created MCGs, however, there would be no creating MCGmember end-port responsible for sending an initial multicast packetafter creation of the multicast group. In accordance with an embodiment,in such a case, the SM/SA (or a related special service—e.g., a daemonexecuting in concert with the SM) could be responsible for generating aninitial multicast packet. When generating an initial multicast packetfor an MCG, however, the SM (or daemon) may not be aware of themulticast packet protocol for which the packet should be generated. Inaccordance with an embodiment, a convention defining a generic multicastpacket type that can be delivered to any MCG member end-ports, andtreated uniformly by ULPs/IB clients, can be used by the SM when sendingout initial multicast packets. In accordance with such a convention,relevant IB Clients/ULPs can ignore multicast packets adhering to thisconvention except for inspecting/learning of the MLID contained in thepacket and any other MLID-related information included in the packet.

In accordance with an embodiment, in addition to the relevant MLID andMGID (which is included in every multicast packet by default) an initialmulticast packet may include information that indicates whether theincluded MLID is a partition specific MLID (i.e., a default MLID for allMCGs created in the context of the relevant partition, as describedabove). For example, an initial multicast packet convention, orprotocol, may include information (e.g., within a special initialmulticast packet payload and/or the initial multicast packet header)that indicates whether the initial multicast packet identifies apartition specific MLID, or a dedicated MLID. If the initial multicastpacket identifies a partition specific MLID, the initial multicastpacket can also include the P_Key of the partition for which the MLID ofthe packet is the default MLID of.

In accordance with an embodiment, when partition specific default MLIDs(as described in detail, above) are employed in the subnet, it ispossible for any end-port to learn the MLID of any MCG that is definedin the context of a particular partition by inspecting the MLID of anymulticast packet associated with the particular partition. This is trueeven if another dedicated (i.e., non-partition specific) MLID (or pairof dedicated MLIDs) is associated with the MCG, since there is norequirement in IB for end-nodes to enforce a specific MLID to be usedwith any MGID, and since the IB Specification explicitly allows multipleMGIDs to be associated with a single MLID.

In accordance with an embodiment, Listing #6 shows exemplary pseudo codefor associating an MLID, learned from an incoming multicast packet, witha known MGID, and the updating of a default MLID table (if necessary).

Listing # 6 - receive incoming initial multicast packet; If initialmulticast packet and indicates dedicated (non-partition specific) MLIDThen   - update local MGID to MLID mappings with received MLID; Elseifinitial multicast packet indicates partition specific MLID Then  -update local default partition table with received MLID; Else  - getlocal MCG information associated with received MGID;  If (no MLID valuemapped to received MGID) Or (received MLID  already in default partitiontable) Then   - update local MGID to MLID mappings with received MLID; Endif Endif

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of a method for providing multicast groupmulticast local identifier (MLID) dynamic discovery on receivedmulticast messages for relevant MGID (multicast global identifier) in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment. More particularly, the figure shows a flowchart forregistering MLID as a result of incoming MC packets—including packetsthat confirm to an initial multicast packet convention and that includeinformation (e.g., within a special initial multicast packet payloadand/or the initial multicast packet header) that indicates whether theinitial multicast packet identifies a partition specific MLID, or adedicated MLID.

The method can start at step 4205 with receiving an incoming multicastpacket. If the multicast packet is an initial multicast packet (e.g., apacket that conforms to an initial multicast convention or protocol) andthe initial multicast packet indicates a dedicated (non-partitionspecific) MLID (at step 4210), then local MCG information to reflect MCGMLID from the received packet can be updated at step 4215. Else, at step4225, if the multicast packet is an initial multicast packet and theinitial multicast packet indicates a partition specific MLID, then thelocal Partition information can be updated to reflect the partitionspecific MLID from the received multicast packet at step 4230. Else, atstep 4245, the method can find local MCG info associated with receivedMGID. If No MLID is associated with MCG or MCG MLID is the same asPartition MLID, then the method can update local MCG information toreflect MLID from the received multicast packet at step 4255.

In accordance with an embodiment, Listing #7 shows exemplary pseudo codefor keeping track of both partition specific MLIDs, as well as dedicatedMLIDs for outgoing packets.

Listing # 7 - get MGID from outgoing multicast packet; - look up MCGrecord for outgoing MGID; If MCG record reflects dedicated MCG MLID Then - packet DLID = MCG MLID from MCG Record;  - send multicast packet;Elseif default partition table indicates partition specific MLID Then  -packet DLID = partition specific MLID;  - send multicast packet; Else  -record that MLID must be determined before MC packet can be sent;  -start timeout period; Endif While Timeout period not expired Do  - waituntil MLID determined (go to first If statement); Endwhile  - timeout

FIG. 43 illustrates a flow chart for maintaining records of bothpartition specific MLIDs as well as dedicated MCG MLIDs for outgoingmulticast packets, in accordance with an embodiment. At step 4305, theMGID from outgoing MC packet is retrieved. At step 4310 the MCG recordfor the retrieved MGID is looked up. At decision 4315, if the MCG recordreflects a dedicated MCG MLID, then the Packet Destination LID is set tothe dedicated MCG MLID from the MCG Record at step 4320 and the MCpacket is sent at step 4350. Else, if a partition associated with theMCG has an associated default (partition specific) MLID (step 4325),then the Packet Destination LID is set to the default MLID associatedwith the MCG's partition, and the MC packet is sent at step 4350. Else(at step 4335), the method can record that the MLID must be determinedbefore a multicast packet can be sent, and a timeout period can bestarted at step 4335. Whether the MLID for the relevant MGID has beendetermined can continue to be checked until the time period expires. Ifthe MLID has not been determined by the expiration of the timeoutperiod, then the method can time-out and end (step 4355). If, howeverthe MLID is determined within the timeout period (e.g., at either step4315 or 4325), then the packet can be sent with the correct MLID.

Still another challenge associated with the delivery of initialmulticast packets for inspection/learning of the included MLID is thathost nodes and associated end-nodes may start/initialize at any time,not just at subnet start/initialization. Hence, in order to ensure thatsuch late-arriving nodes/ULPs/end-ports are able to effectively learnrelevant MLIDs, a regular, timed, sending of “initial” MC packets (e.g.,initial multicast packets that conform to an MLID learning packetconvention, as described above) must be performed such that MLIDlearning by late starting/initializing nodes/end-ports can learn MLIDswithin reasonable delays.

In accordance with an embodiment, Listing #8 shows exemplary pseudo codefor sending initial multicast packets using both a special initialmulticast packet protocol, as well as leveraging protocols such asReverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) in partitions with IPoIBenabled. This code can be executed from, for example, an SM co-locateddaemon associated with a component responsible for the creating of therelevant MCG. There can be one daemon context per relevant partition:

Listing # 8 While (any MCG created by local component requires updateservice) Do  - wait for an amount of time;  If end-port is member ofrelevant partition Then   If IPolB is enabled in relevant Partition Then   - Send IPolP RARP multicast packet;   Endif   If Information MCGexists in relevant Partition Then    - send initial multicast packetindicating partition specific    MLID for relevant partition;    For allpartition MCGs with dedicated MLIDs Do     - send initial multicastpacket for relevant MCG indicating     dedicated MLID;    Endfor   Endif Else   If Information MCG exists in default or special Partition Then   - send initial multicast packet indicating partition specific MLIDfor    default or special partition;    For all owned MCGs withdedicated MLIDs Do     - send initial multicast packet for relevant MCGindicating     dedicated MLID;    Endfor   Endif  Endif Enddo

FIG. 44 illustrates a flow chart for a method of providing end-nodedynamic discovery of a multicast local identifier in a high performancecomputing environment, in accordance with an embodiment. At step 4410, amulticast global identifier that defines a multicast group of a subnetis included in a multicast group record at a node of a subnet. At step4420, a queue pair associated with a port of the node is associated withthe multicast global identifier that defines the multicast group in thesubnet, whereby associating the queue pair with the multicast globalidentifier permits the port to receive a multicast packet that includesthe multicast global identifier. At step 4430, a multicast packetincluding the multicast global identifier and a multicast localidentifier are received at the node. At step 4440, the multicast packetis inspected to learn the multicast local identifier. At step 4450, thelearned multicast local identifier is included in the multicast grouprecord at the node of the subnet.

Explicit MLID Assionment for Default and Dedicated MLIDs

In conventional implementations, different master SM instances allocateMLID values based on local state information and as consequence of IBclients requesting new multicast groups to be defined. In such ascenario any master SM restart or failover, or any subnet-mergeoperation can lead to different MLIDs being used for different MGIDs(i.e., different MGID to MLID mappings), and thereby can causenon-trivial delays before multicast communication is again fullyoperational between relevant end-ports.

In accordance with an embodiment, an explicit MLID assignment policy canbe provided (as, e.g., administrative input) that explicitly defineswhich MLIDs will be used for which partitions in an implementation wherepartition specific default MLID values (as described above) are in use.Further, an MLID assignment policy can also define which dedicated MLIDswill be associated with given MGIDs (for example, partition independentMLIDs). By employing such an MLID assignment policy, a new or restartedmaster SM can observe (and verify) the MLIDs used for existing IBpartitions, instead of generating new MGID to MLID mappings. In thisway, changes in MLID associations for any corresponding MGID can beavoided as a result of master SM restarts or failovers, or anysubnet-merge operations.

FIG. 45 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide explicitmulticast local identifier (MLID) assignment for partition specificdefault MLIDs defined as SM policy input, in accordance with anembodiment. At step 4500, the method can provide, to a subnet manager ofa subnet, a default MLID value for a partition of a plurality ofpartitions. At step 4505, the method can take offline a master subnetmanager, the master subnet manager having access and control to thesubnet. At step 4510, the method can start a new master subnet manager,the new master subnet manager having access and control to the subnet.At step 4515, the method can provide, to the new master subnet manager,the default MLID value for the partition of the plurality of partitions.At step 4520, the method can end.

FIG. 46 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide explicitmulticast local identifier (MLID) assignment for per partition defaultMLIDs defined as SM policy input, in accordance with an embodiment.Particularly, FIG. 46 is a flow chart of a method for verifying existingMLID/P_Key index (e.g., P_Key table to default MLID table mappings, asdescribed, above) associations during subnet re-discovery. The methodcan perform subnet discovery and cache both P_Key table contents and anydefined MLID table for discovered HCA ports. For each discovered HCAport, the method can, if the cached P_Key table contents are not in syncwith current membership policy, then record that CA port needs partitiontable update. Else, if the HCA port supports MLID table and MLID tableis not in sync with current P_Key table or MLID table contents is not insync with current MLID per P_Key allocation, then the method can recordthat HCA port needs MLID table update. The method can then performsubnet re-routing and generate new spanning trees for per partitionMLIDs where partition membership has changed. The method can thenperform subnet re-init and update each CA port according to recordedneeds for P_Key table and/or MLID table updates.

In accordance with an embodiment, MLID assignment policy can specify thevalue of four policy variables. MLID assignment policy can specify thestarting and ending values of a range of MLIDs allocated for MCGsexplicitly defined in the subnet (e.g., via administrative input).Additionally, the MLID assignment policy can specify the starting andending values of a range of MLIDs allocated for MCGs dynamically createdby end-ports. As MLIDs are assigned to each type of MCG, the assignmentscan be stored, e.g., in a non-volatile format, where the present masterSM and any future SMs will be able to determine the MLID to MGID (i.e.,MCG) mappings, and reuse these mappings, instead of creating new MLID toMGID mappings.

In a conventional implementation, all partition definitions in a subnetare based on explicit policy input to the SM. In accordance with anembodiment, conventional partition policy input conventions can beextended to include explicit MLID assignment policy. For example, an SMcan receive subnet partition policy input for the creation of apartition. The policy input can include a partition number (i.e., aP_Key), a partition name, an IPoIB flag (that indicates that IPoIB isenabled for the partition members) and membership specifications forports in the subnet. Additionally, the policy input can include an MLIDvalue that is the value of the MLID assigned to an MCG that is createdin the context of the partition as a result of the policy input. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the MLID value included in the policyinput can be a base value that indicates the value of a full partitionmember MLID where the base value conforms to a convention (as discussedabove) from which a limited partition MLID value can be derived (or viceversa).

In accordance with an embodiment, when an MCG is created in the contextof a partition, e.g., using explicit policy input as described above,the MLID value can be an MLID value from the range of MLIDs allocatedfor MCGs explicitly defined in the subnet. In accordance with anembodiment, the MLID value may not be explicitly defined in the policyinput, but rather, it can be assigned by the SM from the range of MLIDsallocated for MCGs explicitly defined in the subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, in subnets employing MLID assignmentpolicy, subnet merge and split can take place without a change ofMLID-to-MGID mappings. Inter-switch cross links between independentsubnets can be used for selective forwarding of MC packets without anyneed for MLID-to-MGID re-mapping. Moreover, IB-to-IB router basedconnectivity between different IB subnets can be implemented without anyneed to allocate header mapping resources to perform global route headerto local route header mappings.

FIG. 47 illustrates two independent fat-tree based subnets, each havingexplicit multicast local identifier (MLID) assignment for partitionspecific default MLIDs defined as SM policy input, before a subnet mergeoperation, in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 47 eachsubnet, subnet 4702 and 4704, includes a spanning tree for relevantMCGs/MLIDs with a single spine switch as root for the spanning tree ineach subnet. In subnet 4702, spine switch 4730 is the root of thespanning tree for subnet 4702 (as indicated by the bold line definingswitch 4730). Likewise, switch 4733 is the root of the spanning tree forsubnet 4704. A spanning tree has been generated and corresponding MFTshave been distributed to the switches, in accordance with an embodiment(e.g., as described above).

With continued reference to FIG. 47, the spanning tree for subnet 4702can indicate switch 4730 as the root for the spanning tree in subnet4702, in accordance with an embodiment. In this case, the spanning treewill not include any links to/from switch 4731. Likewise, the spanningtree for subnet 4704 can indicate switch 4733 as the root for thespanning tree in subnet 4704, and will not include any links to/fromswitch 4732.

FIG. 48 shows a single fat-tree based subnet having explicit multicastlocal identifier (MLID) assignment for partition specific default MLIDsdefined as SM policy input after a subnet merge operation. As shown inFIG. 48, the subnet merge operation is implemented by interconnectingthe spines from each original subnet (i.e., subnets 4702 and 4704 ofFIG. 47). In accordance with an embodiment, while employing the samepolicy based MLIDs in each original subnet, the only re-configurationrequired after the merge is to logically connect the two originalspanning trees by updating the MFTs in the spine switches 4830 and 4833to perform mutual forwarding. Thus, an entry in the MFT of switch 4830can be made that forwards all multicast traffic that arrives at switch4830 and that is bound for an end-port that is connected downstream ofswitch 4833 to switch 4833. Once such a packet arrives at switch 4833(forwarded from switch 4830) the original MFTs generated as a result ofthe MLID assignment policy will forward the packet to MCG memberend-ports. Accordingly, only the MFT of the spine switch 4830 would needto be updated as a result of the subnet merge. Likewise, only the MFT ofspine switch 4833 would need be updated to forward packets received atswitch 4833 and bound for end-ports downstream of spine switch 4830 toswitch 4830. End-ports “downstream” of the spine switches would be,e.g., HCAs 4801-4812.

Default Multicast Group (MCG) for Announcements and Discovery

In accordance with an embodiment, the IB specification solves a problemof bootstrapping IB communication from a node by defining PortInfoElements that specify the LID and SL (service level) values to be usedfor SA requests, and also by specifying that each port is at leastlimited member of a default partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, similarly, the IP-over-IBspecification (which is not part of the InfiniBand specification)defines a default multicast group (MCG) that can be used for IP to IBaddress resolution. However, since IP-over-IB is not part of the IBspecification it is therefore not a feature that can be relied on for ageneric IB discovery, announcement and address resolution scheme.

In accordance with an embodiment, hence, in order to enable IB multicastoperations in a well-defined way without depending on SA access, atleast one IB multicast group (MCG) can be defined by the Subnet Managerand communicated to the IB clients via extended SMA attributes.

In accordance with an embodiment, by including the MCG definition asadditional SMA level information, there is no dependency on thatdifferent IB client versions are in synch about the associated MGID.Also, the Subnet Manager may reserve one or more MGID values that arenot currently reserved, and may then also prevent any creation of MCGswith MGID values that the SM intends to reserve for its own usage.

In accordance with an embodiment, an additional aspect of a dedicatedMCG defined at SMA level is that it can be specified to be allowed to beused with any partition that is defined for the relevant port, and inthat case the IB client can use the partition specific MLID(s) definedfor that partition when sending MC messages.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to implement basicannouncement protocols, the same message format as used for peer-to-peerexchange of port and node attributes can be used. However, in this case,only the sender address info is specified and there is no targetspecified and no response expected.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to also implement addressresolution and discovery, one request message format specifying a targetGID or GUID with expected response(s) from one specific node can beused. Also, in order to allow a generic discovery of available peernodes, a fully or partially wild-carded target can be specified, andthen all relevant receivers can send unicast responses with their localinformation.—This scheme would imply that fewer multicast messages aresent and thereby reducing the total overhead in terms of the number of“irrelevant” multicast messages forwarded through the IB fabric andreceived by different nodes.

In accordance with an embodiment, various InfiniBand specificationenhancements/additions are contemplated by the above disclosure. Onesuch additional SMA attribute is a port capability for supporting“DefaultMCG”, with a default value of false. This attribute can be setto true by a supporting SMA upon link up. When set to true, an SM ormaster SM can update relevant SMA properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, a “DefaultMCGMGID”, a 128 bit integer,can be set (default 0—i.e., when DefautIMCG port capability is false).

In accordance with an embodiment, a “DefaultMCGMQ_Key” a 32 bit integer,can be set (default 0—i.e., when DefautIMCG port capability is false).

In accordance with an embodiment, the IB spec defines conventional MCGmetadata as comprising an MGID, a P_Key, an MLID, and other attributes.What is contemplated above defines a new MCG to multiple MLID (or MLIDpair) value associations. Special MCG meta data can comprise an MGID(from Extended PortInfo), a partition Global Flag, and otherattributes—(e.g., based on “FabricGlobalMinimalPathParameters” fromextended PortInfo). The PartitionGlobalFlag implies that the MCG can beused with any locally defined P_Key value and the corresponding P_Keyspecific MLID as destination MLID when sending.

In accordance with an embodiment, an announcement multicast message canbe provided. The announcement MC message can comprise a sender GUID andsender LID as part of the GRH and LRH of the MC message. The receiver ofthe announcement message can update cached information about the sender.

In accordance with an embodiment, a target specific discovery request MCmessage can be provided. This message can comprise the sender GUID andsender LID as part of GRH and LRH of MC message. The message type may bea targetdiscovery message. A receiver of this announcement message cancheck if the specified target information represents either an exactmatch or a wildcarded match of local information, and if so send aunicast response with relevant local information.

In accordance with an embodiment, various InfiniBand specificationenhancements/additions are contemplated by the above disclosure. Onesuch enhancement is a new class of announcement and discovery protocolmessages. These can include an Announcement multicast message, a targetspecific discovery request multicast message, and a discovery responseunicast message.

FIG. 49 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) for announcements and discovery as extended port informationin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 4900, the method can provide asubnet, the subnet comprising two or more nodes, a first node of the twoor more nodes comprising a first version of a specification, a secondversion comprising a second version of a specification.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 4905, the method reserve, by asubnet manager, a multicast global identifier to be used as a defaultMGID.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 4910, the method provide, at asubnet management agent, a multicast group definition, the multicastgroup definition comprising the default MGID.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 4915, the method can discoverother elements of the subnet, the discovery being based on at least themulticast group definition.

FIG. 50 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide a defaultmulticast group (MCG) for announcements and discovery as extended portinformation in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S010, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapter ports, and wherein the plurality of host channeladapters are interconnected via the plurality of switches, and a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S020, the method can define,by the subnet manager, a multicast group, the multicast group beingdefined by at least a multicast global identifier (MGID).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S030, the method cancommunicate the defined MCG to the plurality of host channel adapters,along with the MGID, via a subnet management agent (SMA) attribute.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S040, the method can transmit,via a sender end node of a plurality of end nodes, an announcementmessage utilizing the defined MCG to the plurality of end nodes, theannouncement message comprising at least a local identifier of thesender end node.

Default Multicast Group Proxy for Scalable Forwarding (5836)

In accordance with an embodiment, as the number of nodes that need toexchange information increases, the scalability of broadcast basedannouncement and discovery/address resolution protocols is reduced asthe basic complexity is N squared when all N nodes send a multicastmessage to perform address resolution for all other nodes.

In accordance with an embodiment, by aggregating the request for addressresolution for multiple target nodes in a single request multicastmessage, the scalability can be increased, but for large node sets thiswill still have limited scalability.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to scale the protocols tocover arbitrary number of nodes, a hierarchical scheme can be introducedwhere the total system is divided into multiple domains where each suchdomain is represented by an MCG Proxy instance for the relevantprotocols.

In accordance with an embodiment, each such proxy instance can receiveMC based announcements and requests from nodes within its domain, butsuch MC requests would not be directly sent out beyond the boundaries ofthe local domain. Instead, the various proxies can exchange informationvia combination of MC based protocols among the proxies as well as bulktransfer of data as peer-to-peer traffic between pairs of proxies.

In accordance with an embodiment, the proxies can also be co-operatingwith the SM(s) in the subnet/fabric and can send MC based announcementsfor available nodes on behalf of the SM (i.e., similar to the unicastbased SA event notifications.)

In accordance with an embodiment, privileged proxies may also be allowedto operate in a mode where they can send messages on behalf of othernodes in a way that makes the presence of the proxy transparent to theinvolved client nodes. In this case, the proxy would be able to use thesource address information of the relevant node when forwarding requestsor responses.

In accordance with an embodiment, in this way, a proxy that operates asa full member in a default partition (ref admin partition) would be ableto respond to discovery requests from limited member client nodes andwould thereby be able to enforce visibility rules based on the actualpartition membership of the involved client nodes.

In accordance with an embodiment, proxy forwarded or generated requests,responses and announcements may also be explicitly identified asinvolving a proxy instance. In this case, the client node(s) receivingsuch messages would know that the IB source address of the message isassociated with a proxy and not with the relevant peer node that themessage relates to.

In order to provide the required isolation between domains within asingle subnet, the SM must be able to identify domain boundaries as wellas the various proxy instances so that even for a single logical MCG,the multicast routing is set up so that MC packets sent by non-proxiesare not forwarded out of the domain.

In accordance with an embodiment, as long as domain boundaries existsbetween different IB switches, the same MLID can be used in differentdomains without any “accidental forwarding” between domains. However, ifa single IB switch is to be shared by two different domains, then twoMLIDs would have to be allocated for the same logical MCG. Hence, inpractice, it would not make sense to have domain boundaries within asingle switch.

In accordance with an embodiment, in fat-tree based topologies, it wouldmake sense to have individual leaf switches as a single domain, or asub-tree with a unique set of switches but with fully redundant physicalconnectivity between all involved leaf switches could represent adomain.

In accordance with an embodiment, various IB specification enhancementsare envisioned. On such enhancement can be an extension to Announcementand Discovery Protocol Messages. Such an extension would allow theexplicit representation of proxies generation and forwarding.

In accordance with an embodiment, another such enhancement can allow forspecified protocols for inter-proxy communication, but may also be leftas an area for vendor, consortium or distro specific innovation andvalue-add.

In accordance with an embodiment, in order to provide domain and proxyaware multicast routing, the SM must be aware of both the domainboundaries as well as the individual proxy ports. This can beimplemented via SM implementation specific configuration policy, or itcould be implemented via in-band discovery when both proxy presence anddomain boundaries represent node local configuration information.

FIG. 51 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S100, the method can divide ahierarchy into a plurality of domains, each of the plurality of domainscomprising a multicast group proxy instance.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S105, the method can receive,at an MCG proxy instance, an MC based announcement from a node withinthe domain of the MCG proxy instance.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S110, the method can send, bythe MCG proxy instance, to another MCG proxy instance within anotherdomain, information, the information contained in the MC basedannouncement.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S115, the method can send, bythe MCG proxy instance, to a subnet manager, the information containedin the MC based announcement

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S120, the method can end.

FIG. 52 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates a system of an arbitraryfabric with proxy instances associated with each leaf switch. The system5200 can be divided into a number of arbitrary domains, such as domain A5250, domain B 5251, and domain C 5252. The system can comprise a numberof host channel adapters, such as HCA1-HCA9 5210-5218, as well as anumber of switches that interconnect the HCAs, such as switch 1-switch 65240-5245. The HCAs attached one more hosts/end nodes (not shown) to thesystem 5200.

In accordance with an embodiment, certain switches (e.g., one switchwithin each defined domain) can be defined as proxies. In the depictedembodiment, switch 1 5240, switch 3 5242, and switch 5 5244 are definedas proxies. In certain embodiments, these switches can be defined as amulticast group proxy instance for certain protocols.

In accordance with an embodiment, each such proxy instance can receiveMC based announcements and requests from nodes within its domain, butsuch MC requests would not be directly sent out beyond the boundaries ofthe local domain. Instead, the various proxies can exchange informationvia combination of MC based protocols among other proxies as well asbulk transfer of data as peer-to-peer traffic between pairs of proxies.

In accordance with an embodiment, the proxies can also be co-operatingwith the SM(s) in the subnet/fabric and can send MC based announcementsfor available nodes on behalf of the SM (i.e., similar to the unicastbased SA event notifications.)

FIG. 53 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates a medium sized fat tree basedfabric with proxies associated with each sub-tree of certain size—singlelevel. Switch proxy 1 5301 handles the left sub-tree, or sub-tree 15330, which comprises switch 1 5310 and switch 2 5311, as well as HCA1-HCA 3 5320-5322. Likewise, switch proxy 2 5302 handles the rightsub-tree, or sub-tree 2 5331, which comprises switch 3 5312 and switch 45313, as well as HCA 4-HCA 6 5323-5325.

FIG. 54 illustrates a system to provide default multicast group (MCG)proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements and information requestintercepting in a high performance computing environment, in accordancewith an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure illustrates a large fat tree based fabricwith proxies associated with hierarchical sub-trees, multiple levels.Switches with bolded borders represent proxy instances, one in eachspine based sub-tree and one at root switch level providing aggregationbetween spine level proxies.

In accordance with an embodiment, a fabric can comprise a number ofHCAs, such as HCA 5401—HCA 5412, and a number of switches at variouslevels of a tree topology. In the depicted embodiment, switches 5420through 5427 are leaf level switches, while switches 5440 through 5443are root level switches. Switches 5430 through 5433 are mid-levelswitches.

In accordance with an embodiment, those switches with bolded borders,namely switch 5430, switch 5432, and switch 5440 represent proxyinstances. Switch 5430 is a proxy instance for the left-most subtree,while switch 5432 is a proxy instance for the right-most subtree. Switch5440 is a proxy instance for the root level that provides aggregationbetween the subtree proxy instances.

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, in a method, a proxy may have toforward to, or consult with, other proxies.

In accordance with an embodiment, a method can receive a message at stepS501. The method can update local information based on message contentsat step S502. If received message was an information request from nodein local domain, and if the relevant information is cached locally, thenthe method can send a response message with relevant info at step S504.If the relevant information is not cached locally, the method can sendan information request to relevant set of peer proxies at step S505.

In accordance with an embodiment, if the received message was aninformation request from a proxy in a different domain, then the methodcan send a response based on currently cached local info.

In accordance with an embodiment, if the received message was a responseor update from a proxy in another domain, then the method can completeany pending requests that were waiting for received info. The method canthen send update notifications to relevant nodes in local domain, andsend update notifications to relevant proxies in other domains.

FIG. 56 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide default multicastgroup (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

At step S601, the method can receive a message at a proxy.

At step S602, the method can update local information based on messagecontents.

At step S603, the method can determine if the received message was aninformation request message from node in local domain.

At step S604, if the message was an information request message from anode in the local domain, then the method can determine if the relevantinformation is cached locally.

At step S605, if the relevant information is cached locally, then theproxy can send a response message with the relevant information.

At step S606, if the relevant information is not cached locally, thenthe proxy can send an information request to a relevant set of peerproxies.

At step S607, if the received message was from a proxy in anotherdomain, then the method can determine if the message received was aninformation request from a proxy in another domain.

At step S608, if the message received was an information request from aproxy in another domain, then the proxy can send a response based oncurrently cached local information.

At step S609, if the message was not an information request from a proxyin another domain, the proxy can determine if the message was a responseor update from a proxy in another domain.

At step S610, on such determination that the message was a response orupdate from a proxy in another domain, the proxy can complete anypending requests that were waiting on the information received.

At step S611, the proxy can send update notifications to relevant nodesin local domain.

At step S612, the proxy can send update notifications to relevantproxies in other domains.

FIG. 57 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide a defaultmulticast group (MCG) proxy for scalable forwarding of announcements andinformation request intercepting in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S710, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapter ports, and wherein the plurality of host channeladapters are interconnected via the plurality of switches, and a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S720, the method can split, bya subnet administrator, the first subnet into two or more logicaldomains, each logical domain comprising at least one switch of theplurality of switches and at least one host channel adapter of theplurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S730, the method can define,by the subnet manager, a default multicast group proxy within each ofthe two or more logical domains, wherein each default multicast groupproxy is associated with a cache.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S740, the method can receive,at a first multicast group proxy within a first logical domain of thetwo or more logical domains, a request for information from, the requestfor information being received from a second multicast group proxywithin a second logical domain of the two or more logical domains.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S750, the method can check, bythe first MCG proxy, within a first cache associated with the first MCGproxy, for information responsive to the received request.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S760, the method send aresponse message, by the first MCG proxy to the second MCG proxy, theresponse message comprising information responsive to the request.

Using QP1 for Receiving MC Based Announcements in Multiple Partitions

In accordance with an embodiment, a unique feature with queue pair 1(QP1) that is used as a well-defined destination for General ManagementPackets (GMPs) is that it, unlike normal QPs, is not only associatedwith a single partition, but instead can operate for both sends andreceives on behalf of all partitions currently associated with therelevant port.

In accordance with an embodiment, by extending the scope of QP1 to alsoinclude receiving and sending multicast packets in any partition definedfor the port, it is possible to implement generic MC based announcementand discovery without requiring the complexity of unique QPs forindividual partitions, nor any update of QP configuration as aconsequence of change of partition membership.

In accordance with an embodiment, since the default MGID for the port isdefined at SMA level, it is inherently well-defined for a port thatsupports this feature. Hence, there is no need for any specialinitialization procedures except for potentially support for enablingand disabling the use of QP1 for such MC traffic.

In accordance with an embodiment, the IB client would in any case beallowed to handle the relevant MC traffic via other QPs specificallyallocated for the relevant partitions. As with any QP MCG associations,there can be multiple local QPs associated with the same MCG, hence theuse of dedicated QPs for default MCG traffic in different partitions canbe used instead of or in addition to use of QP1 for the same partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, relative to remote nodes includingproxies, the use of QP1 or dedicated QPs for default MCG traffic indifferent partitions can in general be totally transparent except forthat as with any GMP traffic, it should be possible to use the source QPin an incoming request as the destination QP in a corresponding(unicast) response. However, this scheme applies in the same wayindependently of whether the source QP is QP1 or any other QP number.

In accordance with an embodiment, by leveraging dedicated MLIDs perpartition, the IB client would be able to send announcement anddiscovery messages in any local partition and have it received by allrelevant peer nodes without any additional initialization.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the case of proxy based operations,it would also be possible for the relevant domain proxy to sendnotifications in the per domain default partition, but use the MLIDs ofdifferent partitions so that only relevant nodes would receive thecorresponding message. The partition specific MLIDs would have routingfor the relevant actual members, but the port used by the proxy couldstill be included as a send-only member.

In accordance with an embodiment, in the case where a proxy has portmembership in all relevant partitions it may choose to send such MCmessages in the specific partition instead of using a default partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, the IB spec can be enhanced to includeverbs interfaces for querying HCA support for the MC traffic via QP1 aswell as port specific operations for enabling and disabling this featureif supported.

FIG. 58 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use queue pair 1 (QP1)for receiving multicast based announcements in multiple partitions in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S800, the method can provide,in an InfiniBand subnet, a plurality of partitions, each partitioncomprising one or more end nodes.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S805, the method extendedqueue pair 1 to include sending and receiving multicast packets from twoor more partitions.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S810, the method can implementgeneric multicast based announcements through queue pair 1.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step S815, the method can end.

FIG. 59 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure shows a default scheme with dedicatedannouncement QP for each partition.

In accordance with an embodiment, a port, such as port 1 5901 of an HCAin a fabric, such as an InfiniBand Fabric, can bet set up comprising apartition table as well as dedicated queue pairs for multicastannouncements, such as Queue Pair A 5902, Queue Pair B 5903, Queue PairC 5904, Queue Pair D 5905, and Queue Pair E 5906. Each of the queuepairs can be associated with a different partition key, according to anassociated multicast group.

FIG. 60 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure shows a reconfiguration of announcement QPpopulation as a result of partition membership handling.

In accordance with an embodiment, a port, such as port 1 6001 of an HCAin a fabric, such as an InfiniBand Fabric, can bet set up comprising apartition table as well as dedicated queue pairs for multicastannouncements, such as Queue Pair A 6002, Queue Pair B 6003, Queue PairC 6004, Queue Pair E 6005, and Queue Pair F 6006. Each of the queuepairs can be associated with a different partition key, according to anassociated multicast group.

In accordance with an embodiment, FIG. 60 shows a reconfiguration of thesystem depicted in FIG. 59 after a change in partition membership.

FIG. 61 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure shows of a special race condition whereannouncements are lost due to new QP not being in place whenannouncement is made.

In accordance with an embodiment, a port, such as port 1 6101 of an HCAin a fabric, such as an InfiniBand Fabric, can bet set up comprising apartition table as well as dedicated queue pairs for multicastannouncements, such as Queue Pair A 6102, Queue Pair B 6103, Queue PairC 6104, Queue Pair E 6105, and Queue Pair F 6106. Each of the queuepairs can be associated with a different partition key, according to anassociated multicast group.

In accordance with an embodiment, FIG. 61 illustrates the system of FIG.60 before a new queue-pair (QP F) can be set up to handle multicastannouncements from multicast group F. In such a situation when an MCinformation message 6110 is received at port 1, port 1 is not able tohandle the MC information message as queue pair F has not beenestablished for P_Key F and/or multicast group F.

FIG. 62 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure shows a simplified scheme where QP1receives both extended connection management unicast messages as well asmulticast based announcement messages.

In accordance with an embodiment, a port, such as port 1 6201 of an HCAin a fabric, such as an InfiniBand Fabric, can bet set up comprising apartition table. As well, the port can utilize a simplified scheme whereQueue Pair 1 6202 is used for both extended connection managementunicast messages, such as 6220, as well as multicast informationmessages, such as 6210.

In accordance with an embodiment, by employing Queue Pair 1 for both theunicast management as well as multicast information messages, a systemcan avoid the race conditions shown in FIG. 61.

In accordance with an embodiment, by extending the scope of QP1 to alsoinclude receiving and sending multicast packets in any partition definedfor the port, it is possible to implement generic MC based announcementand discovery without requiring the complexity of unique QPs forindividual partitions, nor any update of QP configuration as aconsequence of change of partition membership.

In accordance with an embodiment, since the default MGID for the port isdefined at SMA level, it is inherently well-defined for a port thatsupports this feature. Hence, there is no need for any specialinitialization procedures except for potentially support for enablingand disabling the use of QP1 for such MC traffic.

In accordance with an embodiment, the IB client would in any case beallowed to handle the relevant MC traffic via other QPs specificallyallocated for the relevant partitions. As with any QP MCG associations,there can be multiple local QPs associated with the same MCG, hence theuse of dedicated QPs for default MCG traffic in different partitions canbe used instead of or in addition to use of QP1 for the same partition.

FIG. 63 illustrates a system to use queue pair 1 (QP1) for receivingmulticast based announcements in multiple partitions in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.

More particularly, the figure shows the existence of QP as associatedwith default MCG/MGID removes any race-condition between QPestablishment and reception of announcement MC Packets 6310.

In accordance with an embodiment, QP1 6302, as used by port 1 6301, canbe permanently associated with MCG—Spes, and is always associated withwhatever set of P_Key values that the SM has set up for the associatedport.

FIG. 64 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use queue pair 1 (QP1)for receiving multicast based announcements in multiple partitions in ahigh performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6410, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapter ports, and wherein the plurality of host channeladapters are interconnected via the plurality of switches, and a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6420, the method can set upqueue pair 1 to receive multicast packets from all partitions of aplurality of partitions.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6430, then method cancommunicate, from a local node associated with a host channel adapter ofa plurality of host channel adapters, an announcement multicast packet.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6440, the method can transferthe announcement multicast packet within the first subnet utilizingqueue pair 1.

Using Incoming MC Packets as Basis for GUID/GID to LID Cache Contents(5838)

In accordance with an embodiment, since all multicast packets have aGlobal Route Header (GRH), there is always both a source GID and asource LID defined for an incoming multicast packet. This implies thatit is, in general, possible for an HCA implementation to gatherinformation about GID and GUID to LID mappings for any sender node basedon all incoming MC packets.

In accordance with an embodiment, by correlating with local SMA levelproperties for whether “AllSubnetLocalChannelAdapterLIDsUsable” flag and“RouterSourceLIDsReversible” flag values are True or False, as well asbased on being able to identify incoming explicitly proxied MC messagesfor the local default MCG, the local port logic can build and maintain adynamic cache containing mappings between GIDs and/or GUIDs and thecorresponding LID(s).

In accordance with an embodiment, as long as HCA specific functionsexist for handling incoming work request processing, it is possible tomaintain this kind of caching logic below the CI (channel interface)interface of the HCA.

In accordance with an embodiment, performing such cache maintenance willnot represent significant overhead, but it will not be zero, hence forthis reason the enabling of this feature should be explicitlycontrollable at both port and individual QP level.

In accordance with an embodiment, various IB specification enhancementsare contemplated by the disclosure. A first enhancement can comprise newverb interfaces for querying HCA support for the MC based address mapcaching as well as control operations for enabling and disabling this onboth a per port and per QP (including QP1) level. When caching issupported and enabled, verbs interfaces must exist for observing andcontrolling cache contents.

FIG. 65 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use all incomingmulticast (MC) packets as a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) tolocal identifier (LID) cache contents in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6500, the method can provide asubnet, the subnet comprising a plurality of multicast groups.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6505, the method can receive amulticast packet, the multicast packet comprising a global route header(GRH), the global router header defining a source global identifier(GID) and a source local identifier (LID).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6510, the method can correlatethe GRH, as well as the source GID and the source LID, with local subnetmanagement agent (SMA) level properties.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6515, the method can build adynamic cache, the cache comprising mappings between source GIDs orsource GUIDs, and corresponding LIDs.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6520, the method can end.

FIG. 66 illustrates a system to use all incoming multicast (MC) packetsas a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) to local identifier (LID)cache contents in a high performance computing environment, inaccordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, the figure shows an illustration of CIinterface and GUID to LID cache existence below CI interface.

In accordance with an embodiment, at a host channel adapter comprising ageneric verb interface 6601 as well as a channel provider interface 6602(CI), a platform specific implementation of verb interfaces 6603 as wellas a GID or GUID to LID Mapping cache 6604 can be provided below the CIlevel.

FIG. 67 illustrates a system to use all incoming multicast (MC) packetsas a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) to local identifier (LID)cache contents in a high performance computing environment, inaccordance with an embodiment

In accordance with an embodiment, the figure shows an illustration ofstandard receive functions and IB client above CI interface not beingaware of cache updates as a result of incoming MC packets.

In accordance with an embodiment, then, upon receiving an MC packet, anHCA can perform a platform specific receive function 6703, and cache aGID/GUID to LID mapping based upon the GRH of the MC packet in aGID/GUID to LID Cache 6704 without anything above the CI 6702, such asthe generic receive function 6701 being aware of such caching. Then, forexample, an MC message completion message can be transmitted to thegeneric receive function.

In accordance with an embodiment, use of local cache “consulting” beforeperforming any connection management operation in order to reduce thenumber of message exchanges.

In accordance with an embodiment, the local GID/GUID to LID cachemapping can be used when a new connection to a destination node is to beset up. In the event that the destination node does not have aknown/stored (in cache) GUID/GID, then the local node can use a typicalARP type operation to obtain the destination node's GUID/GID. If, on theother hand, the GID/GUID of the destination node is stored in a cache(from a prior MC message), then the destination node's GID/GUID to LIDmapping can be used to construct an address for a message.

FIG. 68 illustrates a flowchart of a method to use all incomingmulticast (MC) packets as a basis for global unique identifier (GUID) tolocal identifier (LID) cache contents in a high performance computingenvironment, in accordance with an embodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6810, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapter ports, and wherein the plurality of host channeladapters are interconnected via the plurality of switches, and a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6820, the method can define aplurality of multicast groups within the first subnet.

In accordance with an embodiment, a step 6830, the method can receive,at a node within the first subnet, a multicast packet, the multicastpacket comprising a global route header (GRH) that defines a sourceglobal identifier (GID) and a source local identifier (LID).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6840, the method can build, bythe subnet manager, a dynamic cache, the dynamic cache comprising atleast a mapping between the source global identifier and a correspondingsource local identifier.

Combine IB and IP Address and Name Resolution Via Default IB MCGs (5839)

In accordance with an embodiment, since most addressing and nodeidentification schemes for nodes/ports in IB fabrics are based onRDMA-CM and use of IP addresses as the application level identificationof communicating end-nodes, there is a need for mapping of IP addressesto IB addresses as well as for resolving symbolic name associations withnodes and interfaces.

In accordance with an embodiment, based on an efficient and scalablescheme for resolving IB addresses based on announcement and discoveryprotocols leveraging default IB MCGs, the protocols can be extended toalso include the ability to include IP address and symbolic nameinformation.

In accordance with an embodiment, more specifically, the protocol caninclude options for providing application specific values using TLV(type-length-value) style generic representation. In this way, it ispossible to issue requests that have an application specific argument(e.g. IP address) for which an IB address mapping is requested, and itwould also be possible to have responses and announcement messagescontaining an arbitrary set of such TLVs.

In accordance with an embodiment, based on a core IB address cache, thevarious TLVs can be associated with IB addresses in the cache and alsobe used as lookup criteria. In this way, both various IP addresses,symbolic names, MAC addresses, etc. could all be associated with therelevant IB address info and be maintained by a single cache on eachnode and also be conveyed in a single message on the IB fabric.

FIG. 69 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6900, the method can provide asubnet, the subnet comprising a plurality of multicast groups.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6905, the method can issue arequest, the request having an application specific argument, therequest seeking an InfiniBand address mapping.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6910, the method can, inresponse to the request, issue an IB address mapping corresponding tothe application specific argument.

In accordance with an embodiment, at 6915, the application specificargument is one of an IP address, a TLV, a symbolic name, and a MACaddress.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 6920, the method can end.

FIG. 70 illustrates a system to provide combined IB and IP address andname resolution schemes via default IB multicast groups in a highperformance computing environment, in accordance with an embodiment.More particularly, the figure shows a conventional GUID to LID cache.

In accordance with an embodiment, the conventional GUID to LID cache cancomprise a hash function for the GUID 7001, N number of buckets, such asbucket 1 7002 through bucket N 7004, as well as a number of bucketentries that relate a GUID 7005 to a LID 7006.

In accordance with an embodiment, the GUID to LID cache can be utilizedas a fixed feature. Using TLV based node info records, a dynamic list ofsuch records can be maintained with an associated indexing scheme.

In accordance with an embodiment, for each supported info type (e.g.,IP, MAC address . . . etc.), a dedicated lookup infrastructure can beprovided that is similar to the hash based GUID to LID cache. However,in this case, the looked up value is an index value to access the mainindex for the node info record list.

In accordance with an embodiment, lookup functions will take anysupported TLV as input and will return the relevant record if it ismatched. Additional parameters can restrict the scope of the lookup(e.g., name lookup can be restricted to a specific partition.)

In accordance with an embodiment, an extended notification multicastpacket protocol with generic TLVs for arbitrary information can be used.A sender GUID and sender LID is part of GRH and LRH of multicast andunicast packets—GRH is required for both].

In accordance with an embodiment, more than one message can be used torepresent more TLV based info than what a single message can contain.

FIG. 71 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

More particularly, the flowchart shows a generic cache lookup schemewhere TLV (type—length value) type and value can be input in order tomap IB address (GID and LID) or to complete cache record with extraTLVs.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7101, the method can start.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7102, the method can ensurethat the specified type is supported by the cache instance. That is, themethod can ensure that the specified type of a received message issupported by the cache instance running within the node at which themessage is received.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7103, the method can use thehash structure for relevant type to lookup the relevant index (that is,the index that supports the specified type of the received message).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7104, if the index is found,then the method can use the found index (i.e., the correct found indexmeaning the found index that supports the relevant type) to look up therelevant record (i.e., GRH or GUID/LID and LID mapping).

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7105, the method can returnthe requested information from the looked up record.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7106, if the index is notfound/located, then the method can return a message that the index isnot found and/or that the specified type is not supported.

FIG. 72 illustrates a flowchart of a method to provide combined IB andIP address and name resolution schemes via default IB multicast groupsin a high performance computing environment, in accordance with anembodiment.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7210, the method can provide,at one or more microprocessors, a first subnet, the first subnetcomprising a plurality of switches, the plurality of switches comprisingat least a leaf switch, wherein each of the plurality of switchescomprise at least one switch port of a plurality of switch ports, aplurality of host channel adapters, wherein each of the host channeladapters comprise at least one host channel adapter port of a pluralityof host channel adapter ports, and wherein the plurality of host channeladapters are interconnected via the plurality of switches, and a subnetmanager, the subnet manager running on one of the plurality of switchesand the plurality of host channel adapters.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7220, the method can provide,in association with the first subnet, a hash function.

In accordance with an embodiment, a step 7230, the method can receive, arequest, the request comprising an application specific argument, therequest seeking an InfiniBand address mapping.

In accordance with an embodiment, at step 7240, the method can issue anIB address mapping based upon the application specific argument inconjunction with the hash function, the application specific argumentbeing one of an IP address, a TLV, a symbolic name, or a MAC address.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. The embodiments were chosen and describedin order to explain the principles of the invention and its practicalapplication. The embodiments illustrate systems and methods in which thepresent invention is utilized to improve the performance of the systemsand methods by providing new and/or improved features and/or providingbenefits such as reduced resource utilization, increased capacity,improved efficiency, and reduced latency.

In some embodiments, features of the present invention are implemented,in whole or in part, in a computer including a processor, a storagemedium such as a memory and a network card for communicating with othercomputers. In some embodiments, features of the invention areimplemented in a distributed computing environment in which one or moreclusters of computers is connected by a network such as a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), switch fabric network (e.g. InfiniBand), or Wide AreaNetwork (WAN). The distributed computing environment can have allcomputers at a single location or have clusters of computers atdifferent remote geographic locations connected by a WAN.

In some embodiments, features of the present invention are implemented,in whole or in part, in the cloud as part of, or as a service of, acloud computing system based on shared, elastic resources delivered tousers in a self-service, metered manner using Web technologies. Thereare five characteristics of the cloud (as defined by the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology: on-demand self-service; broadnetwork access; resource pooling; rapid elasticity; and measuredservice. See, e.g. “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing”, SpecialPublication 800-145 (2011) which is incorporated herein by reference.Cloud deployment models include: Public, Private, and Hybrid. Cloudservice models include Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as aService (PaaS), Database as a Service (DBaaS), and Infrastructure as aService (IaaS). As used herein, the cloud is the combination ofhardware, software, network, and web technologies which delivers sharedelastic resources to users in a self-service, metered manner. Unlessotherwise specified the cloud, as used herein, encompasses public cloud,private cloud, and hybrid cloud embodiments, and all cloud deploymentmodels including, but not limited to, cloud SaaS, cloud DBaaS, cloudPaaS, and cloud IaaS.

In some embodiments, features of the present invention are implementedusing, or with the assistance of hardware, software, firmware, orcombinations thereof. In some embodiments, features of the presentinvention are implemented using a processor configured or programmed toexecute one or more functions of the present invention. The processor isin some embodiments a single or multi-chip processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a system on a chip (SOC), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, state machine, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In someimplementations, features of the present invention may be implemented bycircuitry that is specific to a given function. In otherimplementations, the features may implemented in a processor configuredto perform particular functions using instructions stored e.g. on acomputer readable storage media.

In some embodiments, features of the present invention are incorporatedin software and/or firmware for controlling the hardware of a processingand/or networking system, and for enabling a processor and/or network tointeract with other systems utilizing the features of the presentinvention. Such software or firmware may include, but is not limited to,application code, device drivers, operating systems, virtual machines,hypervisors, application programming interfaces, programming languages,and execution environments/containers. Appropriate software coding canreadily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of thepresent disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the softwareart.

In some embodiments, the present invention includes a computer programproduct which is a storage medium or computer-readable medium (media)having instructions stored thereon/in, which instructions can be used toprogram or otherwise configure a system such as a computer to performany of the processes or functions of the present invention. The storagemedium or computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to,any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs,microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs,DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards,nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media ordevice suitable for storing instructions and/or data. In particularembodiments, the storage medium or computer readable medium is anon-transitory storage medium or non-transitory computer readablemedium.

The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe invention to the precise forms disclosed. Additionally, whereembodiments of the present invention have been described using aparticular series of transactions and steps, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is notlimited to the described series of transactions and steps. Further,where embodiments of the present invention have been described using aparticular combination of hardware and software, it should be recognizedthat other combinations of hardware and software are also within thescope of the present invention. Further, while the various embodimentsdescribe particular combinations of features of the invention it shouldbe understood that different combinations of the features will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art as within the scope ofthe invention such that features of one embodiment may incorporated intoanother embodiment. Moreover, it will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art that various additions, subtractions, deletions,variations, and other modifications and changes in form, detail,implementation and application can be made therein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that thebroader spirit and scope of the invention be defined by the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for supporting homogenous fabricattributes to reduce subnet administration (SA) access in a highperformance computing environment, comprising: a computer comprising oneor more microprocessors; wherein the computer performs steps comprising:perform fabric discovery on a network fabric, determine a shared maximumcapability for all members of a partition defined within the networkfabric, and set an indicator at a least one host channel adapter port ofthe shared maximum capability.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thepartition comprises at least one switch of the network fabric, aplurality of hosts, and a plurality of host channel adapters.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the shared maximum capability is the same ateach of the at least one switch, the plurality of hosts, and theplurality of host channel adapters.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein ahost channel adapter of the plurality of host channel adapters comprisesthe at least one host channel adapter port at which the indicator isset.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the shared maximum capabilitycomprises a maximum transmission unit.
 6. The system of claim 3, whereinthe shared maximum capability comprises a service level.
 7. The systemof claim 3, wherein the shared maximum capability comprises a maximumtransmission rate.
 8. A method for supporting homogenous fabricattributes to reduce subnet administration (SA) access in a highperformance computing environment, comprising: providing a computercomprising one or more microprocessors; performing fabric discovery on anetwork fabric; determining a shared maximum capability for all membersof a partition defined within the network fabric; and setting anindicator at a least one host channel adapter port of the shared maximumcapability.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the partition comprises atleast one switch of the network fabric, a plurality of hosts, and aplurality of host channel adapters.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe shared maximum capability is the same at each of the at least oneswitch, the plurality of hosts, and the plurality of host channeladapters.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein a host channel adapter ofthe plurality of host channel adapters comprises the at least one hostchannel adapter port at which the indicator is set.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the shared maximum capability comprises a maximumtransmission unit.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the sharedmaximum capability comprises a service level.
 14. The method of claim10, wherein the shared maximum capability comprises a maximumtransmission rate.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving instructions therefor for supporting homogenous fabric attributesto reduce subnet administration (SA) access in a high performancecomputing environment, which when read and executed cause a computer toperform steps comprising: providing a computer comprising one or moremicroprocessors; performing fabric discovery on a network fabric;determining a shared maximum capability for all members of a partitiondefined within the network fabric; and setting an indicator at a leastone host channel adapter port of the shared maximum capability.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thepartition comprises at least one switch of the network fabric, aplurality of hosts, and a plurality of host channel adapters.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein theshared maximum capability is the same at each of the at least oneswitch, the plurality of hosts, and the plurality of host channeladapters.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein a host channel adapter of the plurality of hostchannel adapters comprises the at least one host channel adapter port atwhich the indicator is set.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 17, wherein the shared maximum capabilitycomprises a maximum transmission unit.
 20. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the shared maximumcapability comprises a service level.